It comes after dramatic scenes where Ken Barlow finally discovered what Cassie Plummer had been up to for months

Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney has admitted her real ‘relief’ at Cassie Plummer being exposed for drugging soap icon Ken Barlow.

There were dramatic scenes in the ITV soap last week when the penny dropped for Ken, played by William (Bill) Roache, about Cassie and her shock ploy to stay in his life as much as possible.

After her surprise entrance into her family’s lives back in 2023, Cassie found herself in the fold at No.1 Coronation Street, having become Ken’s carer, which came after he fell down the stairs and fractured his pelvis.

But towards the end of last year, when he eventually decided it was time to let her go, Cassie took drastic action and was seen spiking Ken’s drinks.

Things then took a dramatic turn when Ken was rushed to hospital, but Cassie escaped when Tracy Barlow was blamed for mixing up Ken’s medication which she dropped on the floor.

Realising she could have been caught, Cassie changed to spiking the Weatherfield stalwart with antihistamines in a bid to make him drowsy so that he still needed her. But to make matters even worse, she also started making expensive purchases with his credit card.

But Ken finally figured out what was going on and after suffering a heart attack and being rushed to hospital, Ken used his first words after coming around from an emergency operation to tell his loved ones about what Cassie had done, leading to her arrest.

Ken confronted Cassie in dramatic scenes(Image: ITV)

In upcoming scenes, Corrie fans will see Cassie reach her lowest but for Claire, she is pleased her character’s secret is now very much in the open.

She told the Manchester Evening News: “I think there was a sense of relief because she couldn’t have just carried on the way she was. For Cassie, it was always going to come to a head and there has to be a bit of a redemption arc for the character. As an actress as well, doing these fantastic scenes…

“Bill Roache in the scenes we’re going to see is an award-winning performance. He literally made me cry, he was so wonderful! So to have done those scenes with Bill, who is a legend on-screen, was just sensational. There was one scene which was very dramatic and at the end, the crew were silent then he got a round of applause. I couldn’t believe what I’d just witnessed. I was really tearful and I thought, ‘God, he’s really wonderful. I hope he gets recognised for this, he’s brilliant!'”

She added: “There has to be a redemption arc with her. There’s got to be vulnerabilities; there’s got to be some sort of comeuppance for everything she’s done because otherwise, it’s just a bit black and white really…”

Tracy lashed out at Cassie after Ken told his family the truth(Image: ITV)

But she does insist that Cassie’s intentions weren’t bad ones. “I do think she genuinely cares for Ken… He sees her, he teaches her things, he takes her to the opera, he teaches her about wine, they’ve been to Portugal together… They actually laugh together and they really care for each other.

“It’s just, her keeping him a bit sleepy then he needs her because there was one point he did say to her after the holiday, ‘I’m quite able now, I don’t need you anymore,’ and she went into survival mode. You’ve got to look at Cassie’s history and she was a prostitute at one point, she’s been abused, her mum didn’t really want to know her…

“Her mother used to step in and save her at her worst moments with the drugs but she’s pretty much a survivor and with Ken, it’s not just Ken, it’s a lifestyle.”

Claire added: “She’s in love with Steve, everything with Steve is genuine, the effecition and the love. She spars with Tracy which keeps her going, there’s a real banter between them and then Ken, she just genuinely adores him… She’s suddenly in this family and she doesn’t want to lose it.”

And there was one thing the soap star particularly liked about Cassie’s life with Ken in it. She admitted: “She got the nails which Claire, the actress, loved that Cassie was suddenly able to have a french manicure and a bob haircute and have a bit of mascara. I was like, ‘Yes! Keep the antihistamines going!’