Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien has blasted ‘elitism’ in the TV industry as she reveals her surprising link to Adolescence star Owen Cooper.
Netflix series Adolescence has taken audiences by storm with its portrayal of knife crime in the UK.
At the centre of the story is Jamie Miller, a teenager who is accused of stabbing his female classmate to death.
The role of Jamie marked young star Owen Cooper’s first professional screen acting gig, after attending drama school in the North of England.
Owen was a student at The Drama MOB, a school co-founded by TV legend Tina O’Brien.
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The Sarah Platt actress was also a young teenager when she first hit our screens, with her first TV role being Claire in Children’s Ward.
In a post on Instagram, Tina hit back at claims Owen had no previous acting experience prior to Adolescence, blasting the ‘elitist mentality’ directed at training in the North.
When actor Rico Morris gave The Drama MOB a shoutout on his Instagram stories, crediting them for ‘building the foundations to this talent’, Tina shared the post with some words of her own.
‘Elitist mentality that anything in the North isn’t worth mentioning. Thank you for highlighting this Rico.
‘We work incredibly hard at the Drama MOB and we are very proud of the work we do and will continue to do.’
The Drama MOB were quick to share their own praise for Owen, sharing reviews of his performance and writing: ‘Where do we even begin?!
‘We are beyond proud of Owen for absolutely smashing this role and tackling such a challenging and sensitive subject.
They continued: ‘Being able to secure such a major role is incredible in itself, but Owen has completely blown everyone away – and the reviews say it all!
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‘It’s also a testament to the hard work and dedication of our incredible teaching team, who are committed to nurturing talent and helping our students thrive!’
Alongside her work with The Drama MOB, Tina has played Sarah Platt on the cobbles since 1999 and has been involved in some huge storylines.
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From teenage pregnancy to post-partum psychosis, she has been at the centre of some major stories tackling important issues.
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