Coronation Street stalwart Tina O'Brien has confessed she loves that viewers dislike her character's affair in the ITV1 soap.
Chatting to What To Watch on the red carpet at the National TV Awards 2023, Tina said: "Many, many of the viewers hate her now — but I love pushing buttons," she revealed in relation to married Sarah Platt's affair with Damon Hay (Ciaran Griffiths).
"People have said: 'I can't believe she did that, what is she doing... cancel her!'"
Tina — who has played Sarah since 1999 — also expressed her love for Coronation Street, describing it as the 'comfort blanket of the UK.'
"It's like a big warm hug,' she said. "It's like going home to your grandma and having a nice bowl of chicken soup. It has everything, it has comedy, drama, shock and surprise and beautiful moments of tenderness. I just love it.
"If you took it away from the British public, they'd realise how much they missed it!'
You can watch our exclusive interview with Tina O'Brien on the NTAs red carpet below:
Tina has been at the centre of some huge Coronation Street storylines recently as Sarah's marriage to Adam broke down following her affair with Damon in July.
But if that wasn't enough heartache for one character, Sarah was also left completely devastated when she lost her baby last month in tragic scenes that saw her experiencing stomach pains after an argument with Adam.
Sarah made a hospital dash alone, but Maria saw Sarah leave the cobbles and felt she had no choice but to tell Adam. Adam then rushed to the hospital only to arrive as she was being given the devastating news about her baby.
Coronation Street airs hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 pm on ITV — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on ITVX.
