Sue Cleaver is being “brave” amid her exit from Coronation Street. The star has played the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the cobbles since 2000, but recently announced she will be leaving.
The 61-year-old actress said she is the “happiest” she has ever been and was trying to “exercise courage”. She told Yours magazine: “These few years have probably been my happiest decade. No matter what you do in life, we all get to that point where society tells us we’re at the end. I hear empty nesters say, ‘That’s it, my work is done now,’ but you can recreate yourself, and be brave.”
The actress has already branched out to other roles outside of Coronation Street, appearing in the UK tour of ‘Sister Act’ and becoming a regular panellist on Loose Women. Sue has encouraged others to “exercise their courage” in life, sharing that one of the most important things to do is find “joy”.
She said: “People don’t have courage, it’s a muscle and, like everything else, you exercise it. Stop giving yourself a hard time, because you are unique and fantastic.
“Use the internet to research what it is you want to do, or make a phone call to find out more. You don’t have to do big challenges, or write books, but I think the biggest thing is to do things that bring you joy.”
On Loose Women, Sue recently discussed a “wake up” call which helped to decide on her Coronation Street future. At the beginning of the month, as they discussed Davina McCall’s recent interview with Steven Bartlett and her recovery from brain tumour surgery, the conversation turned to personal experiences with serious health issues and their impact on life perspectives.
Sue, who has battled sepsis in the past, said: “I found myself very poorly a few years ago and was in intensive care, and I think when anything like that happens, there’s two ways to go, isn’t there?”
She continued, revealing the effect it had on her career decisions: “I was very shocked by it, but what it did do for me is it gave me a little poke and helped me make the decision as I’m leaving Corrie now, but it was one of the instances that made me wake up and go ‘life is too short.'”