Since 1999, soap opera star Tina O’Brien has been a part of one of Coronation Street’s most recognizable families as Sarah Platt.
Fans of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street have seen Tina O’Brien take part in some of the most dramatic plotlines since her on-screen debut 24 years ago.
Although Sarah Platt made her television debut in 1987, Tina took over for Lynsay King in October 1999, and she has played the role ever since.
The soap star, who has given viewers some heartbreaking storylines, joined one of the most well-known fictional families when she was just 16 years old.
From online grooming, sexy relationships, an unplanned teenage pregnancy, and a heartbreaking miscarriage.
Express.co.uk explores her role as Sarah Platt as the actor marks 24 years since joining the cast.
Teen Pregnancy
Immediately after joining the soap opera, Tina discussed teen pregnancies with the audience.
Sarah became pregnant at the age of 13 after sleeping with Neil Fearns, a schoolboy played by Paul Holowaty.
After taking the teenager to the doctor because they thought Sarah had an eating disorder, the teen and her mother Gail Platt (Helen Worth) learned the shocking news.
They kept the pregnancy a secret on the cobbles after learning she was five months pregnant until word got out and Sarah started receiving hurtful comments and swipes.
When Sarah gave birth to Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) in June 2000, she had a difficult time adjusting to motherhood.
Bethany also did not have an easy childhood because she was kidnapped twice as a young child.
Once by her maternal grandmother Brenda Fearns (Julia Deakin), and later by Alison Webster (Naomi Radcliffe).
Grooming horror
Along with being the victim of a terrifying kidnapping plot, Sarah was also the victim of an older man’s online grooming of her.
After giving birth to her daughter in 2001, Sarah developed a virtual friendship with Gary Adams (Sam Kane) through a chatroom.
They decided to meet in person at his house after talking for a while, but the teen was shocked to discover Gary wasn’t who she thought.
When Sarah arrived to meet him, the older man introduced himself as Gary’s father and invited her inside.
When the teenager entered, he revealed that he was actually Gary and locked Sarah in a room, so things took a sinister turn.
Fortunately, Sarah was able to call a friend just in time to come get her, saving her from the man’s home.
Sarah has undoubtedly experienced her fair share of failed romantic relationships over the years, including those with Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce), Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas), and Callum Logan (Sean Ward).
When she wed Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson) back in 2020, it appeared as though she had finally found love.
Sarah’s small family seemed secure as Adam adopted her son Harry, but that was before she met troublemaker Damon Hay (Ciarán Griffiths).
Fans watched as the couple struggled to maintain their separation after they quickly began an affair, despite her attempts to rebuff him.
Even though Adam was aware of Sarah’s betrayal, Sarah remained adamant that she still loved her husband and tried to end things with Damon.
After discovering the baby she was carrying was Damon’s and not his, he was so furious that he left the house and later filed for divorce.
But given that everything happened so recently, is a reconciliation possible?
Child loss
Fans will be aware that Sarah currently has two children, Harry Platt (Freddie Rhodes) and Bethany, but the Weatherfield resident has also tragically lost two children.
A few years after giving birth to her first child, Sarah became pregnant at age 16 with Todd Grimshaw’s (Bruno Langley) child.
However, after learning he was gay, she experienced a placental abruption and went into labor too soon.
Billy, Sarah’s son, was born via emergency C-section but passed away three days later.
Sadly, a similar circumstance recently developed after she became pregnant with Damon’s child.
Sarah was devastated to learn she had lost her baby girl while rushing to the hospital due to stomach pains she had after a fight with her husband Adam.
Being part of an iconic soap family
After her on-screen family won an award at the Soap Awards earlier this year, Tina gushed about them in an interview with Express.co.uk.
“Honestly, it’s a genuine massive sense of pride,” she said.
I have a lot of love for Sue Nicholls and Helen Worth, so I could get quite emotional about it.
I began working on that show when I was 16 years old, and Helen has always treated me with love.
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