Coronation Street icon Sue Cleaver admits she “spent so much time worrying” as she opened up about a hidden health struggle. Sue spent 25 years on the hit ITV soap starring as Eileen Grimshaw.
But the 61-year-old left the show as fans saw Eileen swapping Weatherfield for Thailand with son Jason (Ryan Thomas). Sue’s departure from the show comes just a year after she began appearing as a panellist on Loose Women.
Sue recently opened up about how she has gone through life thinking “there’s something wrong with” her. She says for “many years” she has lived battling against anxiety.
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In a conversation with the Big Issue, she said: “We can go through life thinking; there’s something wrong with me. And the reality is, the only thing wrong with you is that you think there is something wrong with you.
“My biggest issue, I would say, was the anxiety that I lived with, and I’ve lived with for many years. I spent so much time worrying about being anxious.
Sue spent 25 years playing Eileen Grimshaw -Credit:ITV
“I didn’t realise you don’t have to work hard to get rid of it. In fact, working hard to get rid of it is what keeps anxiety in place, the constant thinking.”
She says she has now found relief from anxiety. Instead of attempting to fix the condition, she says she treats it like “another thought passing through”.
Sue says it is then up to her whether or not she takes notice of each anxious thought. While Sue has spent years battling against anxiety, she says she has been left “with no regrets” when it comes to her career.
She admits she has “followed her heart” when it comes to work. It has meant stepping out of her “comfort zone” and “taking chances”.
Sue joined Loose Women in 2024 -Credit:ITV
Sue joined the cobbles having spent years working in the theatre, and admits she would now like to return to the stage. Sue says she quit Corrie because she wants the next decade of her life to be “about me”.
Speaking on Loose Women, she said: “I’m now 61 and I feel I’m now at a stage in my life… like most mums we have responsibilities, we have other things we have to consider [and] we’re bringing up our families. I’ve got to the stage – my son is grown up now, he’s 29 – I have no responsibilities left and I want to do something new. I want this decade to be about me.”
She added: “No, this is my decade. I’m more excited about this decade, hopefully you know, as long as I remain well, that this is going to be the most exciting decade for me. I’m really excited.”
Fans will be able to catch Sue on Saturday Morning with James Martin from 9.30am on ITV One. She will be joined in James’ Hampshire house by comedian Leigh Francis.