Leaving Coronation Street brought actress Claire Sweeney to tears on set, the actress has revealed.
The star, who played Cassie Plummer on the ITV soap since 2023, has opened up on her emotional final scenes.
Ms Sweeney is leaving the show after being cast as Miss Hannigan in the UK theatre tour of Annie.
Coronation Street's Claire Sweeney opens up on exit scenes
Coming up on the Cobbles...
Who attacks Dylan? What does Ross do to Cassie? And what heartbreaking glimpse into the future does Debbie witness?
Read more about what's coming up via the link below 🔗 👇https://t.co/W6kFRyYq8n #Corrie pic.twitter.com/zvNNTpt3or— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) July 27, 2026
"Saying goodbye to Hope and Ruby, I sobbed," she told The Sun.
"The tears were real.
"At one point, the director even asked me to hold back a bit because it looked like I was having a breakdown.
"The children started crying too."
She said the stage role as Miss Hannigan prompted her departure, being something she could not turn down.
The actress has previously spoken about the impact Coronation Street had on her career, describing it as a "real turning point" and a "lovely surprise" at the age of 52.
Speaking last year she said: "I’ve done brilliant things in my life and in my career, and I’m grateful and thankful.’
"But when I got into Corrie at the age of 52, it was a lovely, lovely surprise and a real turning point for me.
"When I was younger, I wouldn’t think, ‘This is fabulous.’ It would be, ‘What’s next?’
"But with Corrie, I’m so appreciating it and I’m staying in the moment."
A Coronation Street spokesperson said previously: "We wish Claire every success playing Miss Hannigan and congratulate her on being offered a role she has long wanted to play.
"Cassie will be on the cobbles until the summer, during which time she will continue to make her presence felt in Weatherfield leading up to a great exit storyline."
Ms Sweeney will begin her run as Miss Hannigan on July 7, with tour stops planned across the UK and Ireland.
Coronation Street star talks potential return to ITV soap
In other Corrie news, former star Charlotte Jordan, who played the popular Daisy Midgeley on ITV’s Coronation Street from 2020 to 2025, has spoken about a potential return to the show in the future.
The actress notably earned a British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance for her role.
She weighed in on a potential return to Weatherfield when speaking to Radio Times.
She said: "Oh, well, nobody's asked, but for now I'm happy to sort of just keep exploring and keep seeing what... I mean, I only left a year ago, it's very early days, so now I'm happy to keep, keep giving it a good go."
Ms Jordan's latest role is in the new BBC period drama series The Hairdresser Mysteries, where she stars as Clary Coombs, alongside Sally Phillips, who plays the main character, Lily Petal.
It tells the story of upmarket hairstylist Lily, who leaves the city to run a hairdressers in a small town, and becomes the centre of gossip and secrets.
Ms Jordan revealed that the transition from Coronation Street to her latest project was relatively smooth.
She said: "I mean, speed-wise, it wasn't an adjustment.
"Corrie was a fantastic training ground in that sense, for this particular job, but I did really like playing a character that couldn't be more different from who I played, which was great.
"I was hoping for that.
"I wanted to play someone next who was the polar opposite, so I'm grateful for that.
"But no, it wasn't super different technically, it was all sort of the same ingredients, but it was a very different world, and it's a very different tone, and it's obviously very different, it's a different genre, different vibes.
"So that was great."
Will you be sad to see Claire Sweeney leave Coronation Street? Let us know in the comments.
