Actor Sue Cleaver on life after 60, her three-stone weight-loss journey and her new role on daytime TV
WORDS: SUE CRAWFORD. PHOTOS: GETTY, INSTAGRAM @DANIELBROCKLEBANK, ITV, SHUTTERSTOCK
She’s spent the past 24 years entertaining us as Coronation Street’s comically outspoken Eileen Grimshaw, but now Sue Cleaver is spreading her wings. As well as being offered a more regular role as a Loose Women panellist, she’s about to star as Mother Superior in an ongoing UK tour of the musical Sister Act.
Sue, 60, who has a 28-year-old son, Elliot, and four grandchildren, lives in Manchester with her husband, TV lighting technician Brian Owen.
She talks to us about giving up drink, losing weight in the I’m A Celebrity... jungle and camping with her Corrie castmates.
You’re soon to start touring with Sister Act, how long is it since you last appeared on stage?
My background was theatre and it was my first love, but it’s 20-odd years since I was last on stage. I’ve really missed it, so when the opportunity came up it was a no-brainer. It’s scary, but I’m hoping it’s going to be like riding a bike.
Why have you waited so long?
The timing hasn’t been right. Bringing up my son was my priority. I’ve been offered things in the past, but it wouldn’t have been right for family life. When I hit 60 and my son was grown up, I decided that if something came up and I liked it, I was just going to give it a go. As women, we are so busy looking after everyone – thinking about everybody else, fitting in with what everyone else needs. The timing is right for me now and Corrie very kindly agreed.
You’ve just been offered a more regular role on Loose Women. What do you enjoy about the show?
It’s a great platform for women of a certain age who don’t have a voice. We’re very much a group of women whose voices are refusing to be diminished. We’re out there, we have opinions and things to say. I think it’s a great format and I very much enjoy it.
Fans got to know you better on I’m a Celebrity..., how was that experience?
I loved it, but it’s really tough – you are starving. Each person gets three tablespoons of rice and three tablespoons of beans a day. That’s it, unless you win something. You’re up at 6am and you don’t get your food until 7.30pm. By then, you’re so exhausted. But it was a great experience and I’ve made friends for life. We have a WhatsApp group and we have little meet-ups.
With so little food, presumably you lost a lot of weight
