Tina O’Brien was once again busy on the cobblestones. She is set to find herself at the center of another huge conspiracy in Coronation Street. The actress is best known for her role as Sarah Barlow (née Platt) in the ITV soap, but she didn’t join the series until matriarch Gail Platt’s daughter was 12.
The character was first played by then-babies Leah King and Lynsay King in 1987, when Sarah was born to Gail Platt and Brian Tilsley. Sarah and her older brother Nick were later adopted by Martin Platt when he married Gail in 1991. Lynsay was retained in the role until Sarah turned 12 on screen in 1999; Tina, who was 16 at the time, also joined the cast.
And over the years he faced many harsh events; from giving birth to her first child, Bethany, at age 13 to being kidnapped with her family by her psychotic stepfather, Richard Hillman; to losing her child when her son Billy died shortly after birth, to being attacked by Callum Logan and witnessing her murder by her sister-in-law Kylie.
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Recently, viewers watched Damon Hay have an affair behind her husband Adam Barlow’s back before suffering a tragic miscarriage with their child. He has since been thrown behind bars and ended his relationship with Sarah, and after paying off her daughter’s recently returned babysitter Nathan Curtis, Sarah will soon take matters into her own hands and try to finish him off for the murder of Lauren Bolton.
Speaking about her involvement and whether she was enjoying the big storyline that began with the disappearance of young Lauren, played by Cait Fitton, in February, Tina recently said: “Certainly, initially Sarah was quite different to the Lauren story, it seemed like it had nothing to do with her but Nathan As soon as he revealed this again, he brought him into the fold.
“It’s that desire and need to find Lauren, to find out if she’s alive or dead, and to find out if Nathan was the one who did this to her. So I really enjoy being a part of that.”
Sarah’s long stint in Weatherfield has also allowed viewers to see the Rusholme-born actress grow up on screen. But Corrie wasn’t where his career began.
Tina played Claire in CITV favorite Children’s Ward in 1997, before taking on the role of Sarah Platt in Corrie over 20 years ago. She later joined the Salford-based soap in 1999 and her character was part of the shock pregnancy storyline. She gave birth to her daughter, Bethany, when she was 12 years old.
Tina, now 40, left the role in 2008 and spoke about the reason for her departure at the time, saying: “It was an extremely difficult decision to make. I love playing Sarah and have had an incredible seven-and-done experience.” “I’ve spent a year and a half on Coronation Street but I feel it’s time to see what else is out there for me as an actor.”
She continued to appear in other series, most notably as student Bex Fisher in BBC One’s school-based drama series Waterloo Road. He also appeared in Casualty, Doctors, Blue Murder and Clocking Off before returning to Corrie in 2015, where he is currently still appearing. “I think I originally had a three-month contract and I was hoping to spend the first three months here and stay here. I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am and to be part of an amazing family,” he told The Mirror in 2021.
Away from the cobbles, Tina was in a relationship with co-star Ryan Thomas, who played ex-husband Jason Grimshaw on the big screen, from 2003 to 2009. He played Ryan’s on-screen brother Todd in Corrie before being replaced.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2007, Tina said: “Five months later we got together with Ryan and I was worried about it as he was a friend of Bruno’s. But we worked hard to make sure there wasn’t any tension between the three of us.” Tina and Ryan had a long-term off-screen romance for six years. They had a daughter named Scarlett before they separated in 2009.
Scarlett followed in her parents’ acting footsteps. Last year, it was announced that the now 14-year-old actor would be joining the brand new remake of Waterloo Road alongside his real-life uncle Adam Thomas and cousin Teddy Thomas. Adam reprises his role as Donte Charles, while Scarlett and Teddy take on the roles of their on-screen children Izzy and Tommy.
Tina has since split from Ryan and is currently married to Adam Crofts. The couple married at the ultra-luxe King Street Townhouse in Manchester on New Year’s Eve 2018, after welcoming their son Beau, now eight, into the world four years ago.
And Tina showed she’s more loved than ever when she posted a tribute to her husband on social media last year. The mother of two shared many photos and videos of Adem, some alone and some together. It showed them when they got married, when they went on vacation, and the nights they spent together.
Scarlett and Beau have also been seen making many appearances since childhood, including a trip to Disney. “I love this incredible person, Mr. Adam Crofts,” Tina enthused. She later added: “It’s not his birthday or our anniversary. Just because.”
With a long history, Tina has many connections with her current and former co-stars. Tina is the real-life godmother of Emily Walton, who played the original Bethany Platt. Emily played Sarah’s on-screen daughter from 2000 to 2007, until the role was taken over by Lucy Fallon in 2015.
Last March, Corrie fans remembered how Tina and co-star Ciaran Griffiths appeared together in 2011’s Waterloo Road, where Tina played Rebecca “Bex” Fisher and Ciaran played porn-obsessed Dylan. He forced Bex to live with him for 18 months, filmed her and posted them on a porn site before eventually returning home. However, since Dylan couldn’t have Bex, he went after her sister, Jess Fisher.
Although her character often encounters drama on the sidewalks, Tina found that her real life was subject to it, too. Soap bosses reportedly gave him a week off work after it emerged he was the ‘victim of an unprovoked incident’ caught in a fight ‘over boys’ outside his home in Stockport last month.
Greater Manchester Police were investigating reports of an assault outside the soap star’s home in Bramhall on March 15. Footage of the alleged incident showed Tina being caught in the middle of a fight.
Manchester Evening News It was learned that no arrests were made following the incident. As MEN reported in April, police are understood to have ended their investigation. A spokesman for Tina told The Sun last month: “Tina was the victim of an unprovoked incident outside her home and reported this to the police.”