Katie McGlynn at the Annie Press Night at The Opera house Theatre Manchester
Soaps

10 facts about Katie McGlynn – the actress who plays Sinead Tinker

She's been treading the cobbles for the last six years

Actress Katie McGlynn has been playing Coronation Street’s loveable Sinead Tinker since 2013 and she’s certainly packed some drama into her time on the cobbles.

Over the last six years we have watched Sinead ride a rollercoaster of emotions as she’s found herself caught up in a love triangle with Chesney Brown and Daniel Osbourne, and almost dying in a major minibus crash in 2015 where she was left with injuries so bad it was feared she would never walk again.

But Sinead’s most recent storyline that saw her discover she had cervical cancer while pregnant with son Bertie is easily the most harrowing that Katie has had to act out, but thankfully there is hopefully a happy ending in sight.

But how much do we know about Katie McGlynn? Here are 10 facts about the actress…

1. She is a proud patron of a charity called Mummy’s Star

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Katie has confessed that she didn’t know anything about getting cancer during pregnancy before she started filming Sinead’s harrowing storylines, but fast forward a few months and these days she is a proud patron of Mummy’s Star.

Mummy’s Star is the only charity in the UK and Ireland that is dedicated to supporting women and their families affected by cancer during pregnancy or after giving birth.

Both Katie and actor Rob Mallard, who plays her on-screen husband Daniel Osbourne, have joined forces with the charity to try and raise awareness for such an important cause.

The pair are even running the Great Manchester Run in May to help raise some much-needed funds for the charity… you can donate here.

2. Her older brothers are triplets

Katie was born in Lancashire in 1993 and is the younger sister to three older brothers who are also triplets!

Daniel, Michael and Trevor were born in 1988 and the brothers are very close with their little sister, with Katie often sharing pictures of them together on social media.

3. She found Sinead’s baby bump very handy

While Katie’s Coronation Street alter ego, Sinead, was pregnant last year, the actress has confessed that she found it handy for hiding when she had eaten too much!

She told What’s On TV: “I’m not going to lie, I’m missing the bump! It used to keep my belly warm and it used to hide a multitude of sins. I could eat what I wanted, and I was tucking into cakes. Whereas now I can’t hide from anybody – I’ve got no security bump!”

4. She takes her best friend to red carpet events 

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Katie and her best friend Lee Bennett have been friends for years, and she even takes him along to awards ceremonies and red carpet events.

The pair are often seen on each other’s social media pages and look like they’re always having a whale of a time!

5. She loves filming with a newborn baby

Coronation Street fans will know that Katie’s character Sinead has recently brought baby son, Bertie, home from the hospital after he was born prematurely, and Katie has confessed she loves working with a real-life baby.

She told Coronation Street Blog: “I was really nervous the first time I held the baby because I haven’t had much experience, I only have one niece.

“But it is really nice now and it is a lot easier to connect with a real baby than to act with a doll because it’s easier to pull the emotion out.”

6. She’s a big Friends fan

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Katie is rumoured to love a box set binge on her rare time off from filming Coronation Street, and it seems 90s comedy Friends could be one of her viewing choices after she visited Comedy Central’s Friends Fest.

The actress caused something of a media frenzy when she recreated the infamous scene from the TV show where characters Ross and Rachel get married in Las Vegas with her best friend Lee Bennett.

Lee shared a picture of him and Katie in wedding dresses and sharing a kiss, leading to some fans thinking they’d got married for real!

7. She’s used to playing feistier characters than Sinead 

Before joining Coronation Street, Katie was used to being cast in more bad girl roles like her character Jodie Allen in BBC drama Waterloo Road, which she appeared in from 2011 – 2013.

She told the Sunday Post: “I usually did loud, rough characters and Sinead was quite a sweet, timid Plain Jane at first.

“It took time for Sinead and myself to find our feet, but we have both grown up on the Street.”

8. She is a brilliant boxer 

Katie showed she has some serious boxing skills when she shared a video of her sparring with her trainer in a gym on social media… leaving fans speechless.

The actress loves working up a sweat and can often be seen sharing gym selfies on Instagram, and she clearly works hard. No wonder she is in such great shape!

9. She studied for her A-Levels while filming TV shows 

While she could have quite easily found herself swept up in the world of being an actress, Katie was determined that she would get some qualifications on her CV – just in case being on television didn’t work out.

She told Sunday Post: “I was adamant that I had to get my A-Levels as I didn’t know if acting was going to last. I remember having to get a taxi from filming big scenes to go and sit my exams!”

10. She was forced to deny pregnancy rumours

Back in 2017 the Internet went crazy when it seemed Katie had announced that she was pregnant with best friend Lee Bennet’s baby.

Alongside a picture of a cartoon stork carrying a baby in a bundle, she apparently wrote: “So happy and proud to announce that me and my GBF @_leebennett have decided to have a baby together. Couldn’t think of a better person to bring a baby into the world than my best friend!”

But of course it was all a huge joke, and Lee had ‘borrowed’ Katie’s phone for the prank.

Katie was then forced to deny the rumour the following day by telling her followers: “So when Lee Bennett steals your phone and the whole of the UK thinks you’re pregs!”

What is your favourite Sinead storyline? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Claire Crick
Freelance Soap Writer

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