Celebrity
At 60, Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver tells us why, as her son is grown up, she’s ready to step out of her comfort zone
For many years actor Sue Cleaver lived her life under the radar.
While millions of viewers saw her on screen every week playing Coronation Street’s straight-talking taxi controller Eileen Grimshaw, away from the cobbles, Sue made a conscious decision to live the rest of her life out of the spotlight.
Fast forward to today and Sue is starting to emerge from her shell. From her stint in the jungle on I’m a Celebrity… to regular appearances on the Loose Women panel – and now the role of Mother Superior in the UK and Ireland tour of the hit musical, Sister Act.
It is Sue’s first theatre role since she joined Coronation Street 24 years ago, but she firmly believes that it’s the right time to be making changes to her life.
‘I’m 60 now,’ she explains. ‘I brought my son up; he’s flown the nest and I very much see this as my time. It’s when you start to put yourself first a bit. As women, we are so busy looking after everyone, thinking about everybody else and fitting in with their needs.
‘It’s good to push yourself out of your comfort zone, so I decided that if something came up and I liked it, I was just going to give it a go. That’s why I did I’m a Celebrity… [in 2022], I wanted an adventure.
‘It was very much a case of – this is about me,’ she admits.
Sue lives in Manchester with her husband, TV lighting technician Brian Owen. Until recently, her son Elliot lived with them, but not long ago, he moved into his own flat. The two remain very close and Sue says it was her devotion to her son that was behind her decision to keep her life private for so long.
‘The last thing your child wants is your mum sticking out like a sore thumb,’ she says. ‘I didn’t want him to have to see me on the news. I’ve seen how other people’s kids have got involved in their parents’ dramas and I just didn’t want that to happen.
‘It was a very conscious decision just to do my job, play my character and be Elliot’s mum. And that’s what I’ve done. I wanted him to have the most normal family he could.
‘He was mortified when I had to go to parents’ evening. He’d say, “Oh Mum, do you have to go?” And I totally got it. Those things are hard enough without your mum being on telly. When he was younger, he used to struggle if people came up to me. He’d say, “You’re my mummy.”
‘Out of respect for him, I made the decision that I would work to live and the most important thing was him.
‘Now he’s a b
