Transformation of Coronation Street Star Who Portrayed Sarah Platt's Baby Father in the 90s

The actor who portrayed Bethany Platt's father in Coronation Street is barely recognisable two decades after his character's demise on the soap.

In 2000, viewers were left stunned when 13-year-old Sarah Platt (played by Tina O'Brien) fell pregnant with Bethany (Lucy Fallon). The storyline was groundbreaking at the time, marking one of the first instances a British soap opera addressed teenage pregnancy.

This pivotal plotline in Coronation Street history aimed to shed light on the repercussions and real-life challenges of young motherhood. Sarah and her mother Gail Platt (Helen Worth) discovered the pregnancy during a doctor's visit, initially suspecting Sarah had an eating disorder. Upon learning she was five months pregnant, they kept the news under wraps until word got out, leading to Sarah becoming the target of cruel comments and jibes, according to reports.

While her parents suspected an older man was the baby's father, it was actually Neil Fearns (Paul Holowaty), a schoolmate of Sarah's. In June 2000, Sarah gave birth to Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon). Despite being Bethany's father, Neil never met his daughter. On her first birthday, Neil's family sent the Platts a card and cheque. However, tragedy struck in 2003 when Neil died in a car accident.

Martin and Gail broke the news to Sarah, who was taken aback by Neil's death but not overly emotional. After departing from his role, actor Paul Holowaty secured a part on Hollyoaks in 2005 as the inflammatory Steven 'Macki' MacIntosh. His screen credits have since expanded to include appearances on Casualty, and in 2016, he branched out to the States with an appearance on the American hit series NCIS. More recently, he's been seen in the 2020 Hollywood blockbuster Doolittle and the TV movie Falling for Love. Noticeably transformed from his time on Corrie, he now sports facial hair and has swapped school shirts for sharper ensembles.

Reflecting on her memorable teenage pregnancy storyline, Tina once commented: "Nothing for me will probably ever beat that story, just because of the age I was, the opportunity to play out a teenage pregnancy and how much the story blew up." She detailed further: "Neil Fearns was Sarah's first sexual relationship, it happened once, she was very young and very naive. "They were just so young and with not being in a relationship, Neil was never really involved. It was crazy the response to that storyline but I absolutely loved playing it." Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8 pm on ITV1 and ITVX