Coronation Street’s Claire Sweeney reveals ‘shock’ after her character Cassie Plumber poisons ‘national treasure’ Ken Barlow and leaves him in hospital: ‘I’m public enemy number one!’

Coronation Street viewers were shocked on Monday night when Cassie Plumber was seen lacing Ken Barlow’s tea with crushed tablets.

In Wednesday night’s episode, things take a dramatic turn when Ken is rushed to the hospital after being in Cassie’s care.

Claire Sweeney, 53, who plays the troubled addict, admitted she fears backlash if her character tries to poison a ‘national treasure’ that has been on the cobbles since the show’s first episode in 1960.

‘I’m going to be public enemy number one. I think viewers are going to hate her. The funny thing is, they just started to like her – they finally started to like her – and then this happens,” she said.

“In my head, as I play her, I’m trying to find saving grace, but I don’t know if it will be there. I’m a Corrie fan and I would be furious if I saw this. Already in the summer, when I went on holiday to Mallorca, all the old people said to me: “Leave Ken alone”, “Don’t upset Ken now.” And that was before I had done anything.”

Coronation Street’s Claire Sweeney has revealed her ‘shock’ after her character Cassie Plumber poisoned ‘national treasure’ Ken Barlow, leaving him in hospital

In Wednesday night’s episode, things take a dramatic turn when Ken is rushed to the hospital after being in Cassie’s care.

Cassie laced Ken’s (William Roache) tea with poison after he revealed he let her go following an audit of his finances.

Ken had won £50,000 from premium bonds, with Cassie taking advantage of the windfall by going on holiday to Portugal, which worried his family.

Speaking about how she discovered the dark turn in Ken’s health, Claire said: ‘I was talking to the producer and it was mentioned to me in passing and then the conversation moved on.

I said, “What? Did I hear that right?” I was shocked and then thought, “How nice.” She’s certainly not boring. I’m not just asking for hotpot in the Rovers. It’s exciting and working with Bill Roache.

‘She doesn’t want to hurt him, she just wants him to need her. She adores Ken. The two find these moments of absolute affection with each other. They love being together.

“So when Ken says he can’t afford to keep her, she’s devastated: where will she go, what will she do, who will she be with? There is anger, pain and a sense of abandonment.

“It’s not even necessarily about money, she loves the life she has for him. There’s something of Munchausen in it.’

Claire said Cassie feels “definitely remorse” for drugging him and is aware of the dangers of painkillers and blood thinners, so she switches to antihistamines.

Cassie laced Ken’s (William Roache) tea with poison after he revealed he let her go following an audit of his finances

Ken had won £50,000 from premium bonds, with Cassie taking advantage of the windfall by going on holiday to Portugal, which worried his family.

She said, “I think Cassie will do whatever she can to keep this going. She doesn’t poison him with the intention of harming him, it’s just to keep him a little stupid, so he keeps her on, so he needs her.

“Everything was done with survival in mind. She was working on it; she was abused when she was younger – so everything is about survival and I think this is also about survival.

“But she’s conflicted because I’m not sure she’s had genuine feelings for anyone before, especially Ken. He is kind to her and forgiving, and he has her back too. She’s a bit ruthless, but there are moments when her conscience pricks because she likes Ken.’

The actress admitted she fears the storyline could lead to the end of her time on the cobbles.

‘It sometimes crosses your mind. When I got this job and you had told me that I would have a big storyline here a year and a half later with Bill Roache, I would have been so grateful for that,” she said.

‘In my time at Corrie I’ve had big scenes with Maureen Lipman, a big storyline with Bill Roache, I got to kiss Steve McDonald and have a cat fight with Tracy.

‘What more could I want? So if this means the end, I would go – well, that wasn’t great, I’m blessed.”