Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien has hit back at ‘elitism’ in the TV industry after her former student, Owen Cooper, landed a breakout role in Netflix’s gripping drama Adolescence.
The Manchester-born actress, best known for playing Sarah Platt on the ITV soap, co-founded The Drama MOB, a Northern drama school where Owen trained before securing his first professional role as Jamie Miller, a teenager accused of a shocking crime.
When actor Rico Morris praised The Drama MOB on Instagram for laying the foundations of Owen’s talent, Tina shared the post, calling out the industry’s dismissive attitude toward Northern training.
“Elitist mentality that anything in the North isn’t worth mentioning,” she wrote. “Thank you for highlighting this, Rico. We work incredibly hard at The Drama MOB and are very proud of the work we do—and will continue to do!”
The drama school also celebrated Owen’s success, sharing glowing reviews of his performance and writing: “Where do we even begin?! We are beyond proud of Owen for smashing this role and tackling such a challenging subject.”
They added: ‘Securing such a major role is incredible, but Owen has completely blown everyone away—and the reviews say it all! It’s also a testament to our incredible teaching team, who are dedicated to nurturing Northern talent.’
Tina, who first appeared on screen as a teenager in Children’s Ward, has long been a champion of Northern voices in the industry. Since 1999, she has been a staple on the Corrie cobbles, tackling hard-hitting storylines from teenage pregnancy to post-partum psychosis.
