Tina O'Brien

Tina O'Brien
200px Tina O'Brien in July 2011
Born	Tina Michelle O'Brien (1983-08-07) 7 August 1983 Rusholme, Manchester, England
Nationality	English
Occupation	Actress, Model
Years active	1997–
Notable work	Sarah-Louise Platt in Coronation Street Bex Fisher in Waterloo Road Claire in Children's Ward
Height	5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)
Television	Coronation Street (1999–2007, 2015–) Waterloo Road (2010–2011) Strictly Come Dancing (2010)
Partner(s)	Ryan Thomas (2003–09) Adam Crofts (2010–present)
Children	2

Tina Michelle O'Brien (born 7 August 1983) is an English actress and model. She is best known for her role as Sarah-Louise Platt in the ITV soap Coronation Street from 1999 to 2007 and 2015 onwards and her role as Bex Fisher in the BBC school drama Waterloo Road from 2010 to 2011.

Career

Born in Rusholme, Manchester, England, O'Brien left Trinity C.E. High School with nine GCSEs. She starred in the drama Children's Ward in 1997, The Cops in 1998 and Clocking Off in 2000, playing the on-screen half sister of actor Jack P. Shepherd who later became her on-screen brother David Platt in Coronation Street. At the age of sixteen, she joined Coronation Street in October 1999, taking over the role of Sarah-Louise Platt from actress Lynsay King (she was three years older than her character). Sarah's pregnancy with baby Bethany Platt won O'Brien Best Storyline at the British Soap Awards. She has also won Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards, and the TV Quick Awards. O'Brien revealed in the British press in April 2007 that she would be leaving Coronation Street before the end of the year. Her first role after leaving Coronation Street was in the 2007 pantomime at Manchester Opera House, where she played the title character of Cinderella. Her first television role post-Coronation Street was in the ITV police television drama Blue Murder, filmed whilst four months pregnant, in which she played a character called Amy Kirkland. O'Brien expressed interest in doing televised dramas and theatre work, although after becoming pregnant, she decided to put her career on hold.

In 2010, O'Brien starred in the sixth series of the BBC school drama Waterloo Road as Bex Fisher, the eldest daughter of the new headmistress Karen Fisher. In 2010, she also appeared in The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, in which she played the character of Miss Browne, a role which required her first on-screen lesbian kiss. Later in 2010, she appeared as a character in new television drama The Accused written by Jimmy McGovern, as well as starring in the 2010 series of Strictly Come Dancing. Her partner was Jared Murillo and she was unable to perform in the 3rd week due to illness. She was eliminated in the 5th week of the competition after failing to impress the viewers with her Argentine Tango. She fell into the bottom two alongside Felicity Kendal who was saved thanks to the public vote.

In 2010, she also appeared in an advert for Homepride Sauces "Tasty Tip".

From 4 December 2010 to 3 January 2011, she played Snow White in Manchester Opera House's 2010/11 pantomime. Between 14 January and 13 February 2011, she participated in the 2011 Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour.

In October 2014, O'Brien announced that she will be reprising her role of Sarah-Louise Platt in Coronation Street in early 2015. The character returned on an episode broadcast on 30 March 2015.

Personal life

O'Brien is the godmother of Emily Walton, who played the original Bethany Platt, her on-screen daughter. O'Brien was in a relationship with Ryan Thomas, who played Jason Grimshaw, her on-screen ex-husband, from 2003 to 2009. Their daughter, Scarlett Jacqueline Thomas was born at Manchester General Hospital on 26 October 2008. In March 2014 she announced that she was pregnant with her second child with her partner Adam Crofts. On 10 October 2014 she gave birth to a son, whom she named Beau Lee Stephen.

O'Brien has twice been voted into the annual FHM Top 100 Sexiest Women in the World. In 2005, she was voted 28th. In 2006, she was voted 53rd.

O'Brien is a patron of the charity Animals in Distress Sanctuary.

Filmography

Year	Title	Type	Role	Notes
1997	Children's Ward	TV	Claire	Regular Role
1998	The Cops	TV	Underage Girl	1 Episode, Episode: "1.3"
1999–2007, 2015–	Coronation Street	TV	Sarah-Louise Platt	Series Regular
2000	Clocking Off	TV	Adele Kolakowski	1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Yvonne's Story"
2002	Dick Whittington	TV	Maid of Tonga	TV Adaptation Movie
2004, 2007	This Morning	TV	Herself	Guest, 3 Episodes
2004, 2007	Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway	TV	Herself	Guest, 2 Episodes
2005	Coronation Street: Pantomime	TV	Sarah-Louise Platt	TV Special
2005	GMTV with Lorraine	TV	Herself	Guest, 1 Episode
2009	Blue Murder	TV	Amy Kirkland	1 Episode, Episode Titled: "This Charming Man"
2009, 2010	Loose Women	TV	Herself	Guest, 3 Episodes
2009	Xposé	TV	Herself	Guest, 1 Episode
2010	The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister	TV	Miss Browne	TV Mini Series
2010	The Alan Titchmarsh Show	TV	Herself	Guest, 1 Episode
2010	BBC Breakfast	TV	Herself	Guest, 1 Episode
2010–2011	Waterloo Road	TV	Bex Fisher	Regular Role, 9 Episodes
2010	Accused	TV	Leanne Lang	1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Helen's Story"
2010	Strictly Come Dancing	TV	Herself	Contestant/Participant
2010	Blink	Short Film	Bride	Short Film Role
2011	Casualty	TV	Chloe Trent	Regular Role, 3 Episodes
2012	Call the Midwife	TV	Cathy Powell	1 Episode, Episode: "1.6"
2012	Crime Stories	TV	Justine Peplow	1 Episode, Episode: "1.3"
2012	The Corrie Years	TV	Herself	3 Episodes
2014	Casualty	TV	Olivia Tindal	1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Valves to Vagrants"
2014	Doctors	TV	Nikki Faulks	1 Episode, Episode Titled: "About the Boy"
2014	Gail & Me: 40 Years on Coronation Street	TV	Herself	TV Documentary Special
2015	This Morning	TV	Herself	Guest, 1 episode

External links

• Tina O'Brien at the Internet Movie Database
• Tina O'Brien on Strictly Come Dancing