Coronation Street stars Claire Sweeney and Alan Halsall have been leaving fans stunned due to the age gap between them in real life, despite playing mother and son on the cobbles

Coronation Street fans stunned by age difference between Cassie and Tyrone stars

Coronation Street fans have been left gobsmacked by the real-life age gap between Claire Sweeney and Alan Halsall, who play mother-son pair Cassie and Tyrone.

Alan first graced our screens as Tyrone in the iconic soap back in 1998. Since then, he’s become a stalwart of the show, featuring in numerous major storylines.

From his romantic entanglements and subsequent marriage to Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine) to enduring domestic abuse from his fiancée Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede), Tyrone’s tenure in Weatherfield has been anything but dull.

Cassie, on the other hand, made her Weatherfield debut in 2023 as Tyrone’s estranged mother and a recovering drug addict. It didn’t take long for her to find herself embroiled in some drama.

Earlier this year, she was responsible for poisoning Ken Barlow (William Roache) – whom she was looking after – in a shocking attempt to prolong her presence in his life, reports OK!.

In a dramatic twist, Ken was rushed to hospital following a heart attack – thankfully, he pulled through.

The truth about Cassie’s role in Ken’s health scare was eventually revealed, leaving the community – Tyrone included – appalled.

The pair play mother and son

Despite everything, Ken forgave her, and she has since moved back in with Tyrone. Adding to the intrigue, Cassie has recently rekindled her romance with Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and they’ve gone public with their relationship.

However, off-screen, fans have been distracted by the discovery of the age difference between actors Claire and Alan.

Claire is 54 and Alan is 42, which means there’s a mere 12-year age gap between the two stars. However, their on-screen characters, Cassie and Tyrone, have a larger age difference of nearly 16 years.

Fans have just realised the real-life age gap

“Just found out that Claire Sweeney and Corrie son Alan have an 11-year age-gap wth,” one person expressed surprise on a Corrie Facebook fan page.

Another added: “Another unrealistic age gap.” A third was taken aback, commenting on the social media platform: “Oh wow I didn’t realise that.” Yet another wrote: “I’ve said from the start she doesn’t look old enough to be Tyrone’s mum.”