Tina O'Brien
O'Brien in 2011
Born	Tina Michelle O'Brien (1983-08-07)7 August 1983 (age 41) Rusholme,Manchester, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Television	Coronation Street (1999–2008, 2015–present) Waterloo Road (2010–2011) Strictly Come Dancing (2010) Casualty (2011, 2014)
Spouse	Adam Crofts ​ ​ (m. 2018; sep. 2025)​
Partner	Ryan Thomas (2003–2009)
Children	2

Tina Michelle O'Brien (born 7 August 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal ofSarah Platt in the long-runningITVsoap operaCoronation Street (1999–2008, 2015–present). She also appeared in theBBC One drama seriesWaterloo Road (2010–2011).

Born inRusholme,Manchester, England, O'Brien was educated atTrinity C.E. High School. Her early acting roles includedChildren's Ward in 1997,The Cops in 1998 andClocking Off in 2000. At the age of sixteen, she joinedCoronation Street in October 1999, taking over the role ofSarah Platt from actress Lynsay King. Sarah's pregnancy withBethany Platt won O'Brien Best Storyline at theBritish Soap Awards.^[1] She also won Best Newcomer at theNational Television Awards^[2] and theTV Quick Awards.^[3]

Her first role after leavingCoronation Street was in the 2007 pantomime atManchester Opera House, where she played the title character ofCinderella. Her first television role post-Coronation Street was in theITV police television dramaBlue Murder, filmed whilst four months pregnant, in which she played a character called Amy Kirkland. O'Brien expressed interest in doing televised dramas and theatre work,^[4] although after becoming pregnant, she decided to put her career on hold.^[5]

In 2010, O'Brien starred in the sixth series of theBBC school dramaWaterloo Road asBex Fisher, the eldest daughter of the new headteacherKaren Fisher (Amanda Burton).^[6] In 2010, she also appeared inThe Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, in which she played the character of Miss Browne, a role which required her first on-screen lesbian kiss.^[7] Later in 2010, she appeared as a character in the new television dramaAccused, written byJimmy McGovern,^[7] as well as starring in the 2010 series ofStrictly Come Dancing.^[8] Her partner wasJared Murillo, and she was unable to perform in the third week due to illness. O'Brien was eliminated in the fifth week of the competition after failing to impress the viewers with her Argentine Tango. She fell into the bottom two alongsideFelicity Kendal, who was saved thanks to the public vote.From 4 December 2010 to 3 January 2011, O'Brien played the title character ofSnow White inManchester Opera House's 2010/2011 pantomime.^[9] Between 14 January and 13 February 2011, she participated in the 2011Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour.^[10]

In October 2014, O'Brien announced that she would be reprising her role of Sarah Platt inCoronation Street in early 2015. The character returned on an episode broadcast on 30 March 2015.^[11]

O'Brien used to do gymnastics until she was 10 years old. She gave it up in favour of acting as her family could not afford for her to do both.^[12]

O'Brien is the godmother of Emily Walton, who played the originalBethany Platt, her on-screen daughter.

O'Brien was in a relationship withRyan Thomas from 2003 to 2009.^[13] They have one daughter, Scarlett,^[14][15] born 26 October 2008, who is now playing Izzy Charles in the 2023 reboot ofWaterloo Road.^[16]

O'Brien married Adam Crofts onNew Year's Eve 2018. They have one son.^[17] In March 2025, it was revealed that the couple had split.^[18][19]

Television

Film

• Tina O'Brien atIMDb

• 1983 births
• Living people
• Actresses from Manchester
• English soap opera actresses
• English stage actresses
• English female models
• English television actresses
• English child actresses
• People from Rusholme
• English people of Irish descent
• 20th-century English actresses
• 21st-century English actresses
• Models from Manchester

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use British English from March 2015
• Use dmy dates from May 2014
• Articles with hCards