Coronation Street newcomer Sydney Martin’s ‘weird’ real-life admission and surprise connection with co-star

Coronation Street’s Sydney Martin is relieved the secret is finally out.

The soap star is the newest addition to the long-running soap’s cast, and her character was immediately thrown into the drama as she blackmails villain Joel Deering. Sydney’s character was named in the credits as “Sabrina’s friend,” and the vague identity left fans suspicious that another twist would follow.

This was confirmed in Friday’s episode when Sydney was revealed to be playing none other than Betsy Swain, the daughter of Weatherfield Police Detective Lisa Swain. Sydney took to Instagram after the bombshell ending to officially announce her character.

READ MORE: ‘Liverpool made us’: UFC stars Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann owe it all to ‘rare’ Scouse trait

READ THE FOLLOWING: Emmerdale star Vinny Dingle has been inundated with support following the family’s joint announcement

She said: “The hardest secret to keep – Betsy Swain has officially landed on the Cobbles. I couldn’t be more grateful to be joining the Coronation Street family and playing DS Swain’s daughter. Thank you all for welcoming me with open arms. arms, I can’t wait for everyone to meet her!”

The role is Sydney’s first TV gig and the rising star told the ECHO and other media she was “over the moon” after landing her dream job. Although she plays a 16-year-old in the show, Sydney is actually 22 and the TV star explained that she is grateful to be older than her character.

She said: “Going into Lauren (Bolton’s) story, which is such an important and massive story, and being a little bit older and understanding more of the serious subjects that she’s dealing with, it was beautiful.”

She added: “It’s weird though, don’t get me wrong because (Betsy) is six years younger than me. She joked, “I mean, I lay on the moisturizer.”

Sydney explained that she never imagined she could be an actor and originally wanted to be a zookeeper when she was younger. However, she was bitten by the acting bug in Sixth Form and decided to follow her showbiz dreams by attending drama school in Manchester.

The TV star auditioned for two smaller roles in Corrie earlier this year and was stunned when she landed the role of Betsy. She said: “In this industry it can be so hard because you face so much rejection, but just to get a recall and meet (DS Swain star) Vicky (Myers) I just considered it as a good experience.

“I didn’t take it the way I wanted to. When you start out in this career, any bit of hope is great. It’s all about meeting people and networking, that’s what makes it such a beautiful industry.”

Sydney was watching Pitch Perfect 3 with her flatmates when she got a call from her agent to say she had been cast. She added: “It’s one of those careers you have to keep fighting for and I was just over the moon.

“My roommate picked me up and we both cried. I didn’t finish Pitch Perfect.” Sydney doesn’t come from a showbiz family and was working six days a week in Tesco to subsidize her acting career when she got the part.

The soap star laughed as she revealed she handed in her notice to the supermarket chain before telling her delighted family the incredible news. She said: “My dad was like you shouldn’t have given your notice. He said they “won’t give you a Tesco reference now”.

Sydney is from Rossendale and has hailed the support of her mum and dad for the way they supported her as she pursued her ambitious dream. She said: “I always say I don’t know where I got my creative bones from because they’re in completely different careers.

“I was the first in my family to go to university. It can be worrying for parents for someone to say they want to go into acting because it’s such an uncertain career. You have to be a certain type of person to be resilient with him.

“This is the first TV thing I’ve ever done and I couldn’t have asked for a better first opportunity. They are just my biggest fans and I am over the moon. I had my first photo in a magazine and they got about 10 of them and I think it’s already framed.”

Sydney also credited the support she received from her co-stars, who welcomed her with “open arms”. The actor was surprised on the first day of filming to discover he shares a connection with Joel Deering star Calum Lill.

She said: “I actually found out on my first day of filming that we went to the same high school. I recently went back and got some flowers and I’m still over the moon.

“I left high school quite a while ago and they never forgot me.” She added: “I went into Sixth Form and had the most amazing drama teachers who I literally owe everything to.”

Sydney teased that her character will cause trouble in Cobbles as she will exploit her close connection with Weatherfield’s law enforcement. She added: “If he’s in trouble, it’s like my mum can kick me out. There is a play there. She’s a bit naive and thinks the law doesn’t apply to her.”

Sydney and Vicky enjoy a special bond away from the screen as the soap star paid emotional tribute to her on-screen mum for helping her settle down as she looks forward to the next chapter in her life them as part of the Corrie cast.

She said: “In another universe, we were definitely mother and daughter. We are so alike.

“Vicky gave me flowers on my first day. It made me feel so appreciated. It’s such a fast-paced and supportive environment for everyone, but Vicky went out of her way just to make sure I was taken care of and to have that motherly figure. was so nice

“I moved away from home at 18 and to enter a new industry and have someone so supportive is really exciting. Everyone was so welcoming. Sometimes you need that (motherly) energy, especially when you’re like a little fish. in a large pond.

“But I was really looked after, so I feel very grateful.”

Receive newsletters with the biggest and latest TV and showbiz news registration here

Claim a free pair of horse racing tickets at Haydock Park in association with Racing TV this summer