Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien has revealed the unexpected connection she has to Adolescence teen actor Owen Cooper.
Tina, who currently portrays Sarah Platt in the ITV soap opera, co-founded her drama school, The Drama MOB, in 2013 after “noticing a gap in the market for high quality drama classes in Manchester”.
Owen, on the other hand, was recently introduced to millions after playing schoolboy Jamie Miller in Adolescence. He is currently filming for the upcoming 2026 adaptation of Wuthering Heights, where he will portray young Heathcliff.
Tina O’Brien reveals connection to Adolescence star Owen Cooper
Starring in the hit series alongside the likes of Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, reports suggested that Owen had no acting experience.
However, it seems Tina has exposed the young rising star and revealed that he once attended her drama school before finding fame.
The 41-year-old soap actress reposted an Instagram post from actor Rico Morris, who praised Drama MOB for helping develop Owen’s talent, to her Story. In the caption, Tina wrote: “Elitist mentality that anything in the North isn’t worth mentioning.”
She added: “Thank you for highlighting this Rico. We work incredibly hard at the Drama MOB and we are very proud of the work we do and will continue to do.”
‘We did not want a lad who went to drama school’
Tina’s revelation arrived soon after Stephen, who is also the creator and writer of the series, opened up about casting Owen.
“We did not want a lad who had been through theatre school or drama school,” he said.
“Owen is a normal kid from a council estate, he’s working with Margot Robbie now, he’s playing Heathcliffe, he’s smashing it.”
While talking to The Independent, Stephen insisted he wanted to find someone “who didn’t have a lot of experience”.
He said he was aware that Owen had “done a couple of little theatre workshops”. Stephen added: “He was just starting to do little bits in school.”
Tina O’Brien first rose to fame in 1999 as a child star when she secured the iconic role of Sarah Platt in Coronation Street.
She remained on the ITV soap opera until 2008 before returning to the cobbles in 2015.
While the show helped launch the 41-year-old actor into a household name, Tina has also starred in countless other shows…
Tina O’Brien before Corrie
Tina’s first-ever acting role took place two years before debuting as Sarah in Corrie.
In 1997, she had a regular part as Claire in the ITV children’s drama Children’s Ward. A year later, she starred as an underage girl in the drama series The Cops.
‘You don’t realise how good something is until it’s gone’
Before initially waving goodbye to Corrie in 2008, Tina admitted she was “sad” to leave.
“I think this job will be one of those things where you don’t realise how good something is until it’s gone,” she told Lancashire Telegraph.
“I’m kind of glad the end is coming up because it’s been coming a while. Now I feel prepared for it. When I first decided to go I kept thinking, ‘Have I made a mistake?’ I already know I’m going to cry loads on my last day, though.”
Tina’s career after Corrie
When she left Corrie, Tina remained a prominent face on television.
In 2010, she participated on Strictly and was voted off during the fifth episode. That same year, she debuted the role of Bex Fisher in BBC One’s Waterlood Road and later starred in Casualty.
Tina continued to appear in BBC dramas with one-off appearances in Call The Midwife and Doctors.
In 2012, she co-founded her own drama school, The Drama MOB, in Manchester.
Corrie comeback
After some time away, Tina returned to Corrie in 2015 and has remained on the soap ever since.
Despite Sarah’s bad luck with men, she revealed during a 2024 interview with 5 Things To Do Today that it makes her job “a lot more interesting”.
“Sometimes for my character I do love the idea of her being settled and happy but for me it keeps me much busier and it’s much more fun to play,” she said. “I loved the will they/won’t they elements of the story with Adam.”
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