Claire Sweeney felt 'nervous' acting with William Roache

Claire Sweeney felt "nervous" about acting alongside 'Coronation Street' veteran William Roache.

The 53-year-old actress joined the cast of the ITV soap last year as homeless drug addict Cassie Plummer, who becomes a carer for Roache's character Ken Barlow - and Claire admits she felt overwhelmed when she realised she would have so many scenes with the Weatherfield regular.

She told OK! magazine: "I was very ensconced in the Dobbs’ house with Maureen Lipman and Alan Halsall and then suddenly I heard whispers that I had a storyline with Bill [Roache's].

"My first day of filming, I just said to him, ‘Look, I’m nervous,’ and he was so kind and warm. I feel so honoured – I’ve only been here a year and I’m so lucky to have this storyline."

After a rocky start, the characters start to bond and Claire was delighted to film a sweet scene with her co-star. She added: "There’s a lovely scene with him where she says, ‘Look, sometimes you’ve got to allow yourself to be helped.’

"Over lunch they laugh together and you can see that they are good company for each other. She has put a little spring in his step and suddenly she feels useful and appreciated. So it’s worked for both of them."

However, Claire still dreams of landing a big 'Corrie' fight scene. She explained: "I would love to have a scrap on the cobbles! One of my favourite 'Corrie' scenes is when Eileen and Gail had a fight and so I’d love to have a little scrap. Those scenes are iconic."

It comes after Claire recently revealed she's put pen to paper to sign a new one-year deal to stay on the show.

She told Cheshire Life magazine: "I've just signed my contract for another year in 'Corrie', and I'm really happy to fully invest all my time and energy into Cassie and see what develops."