Coronation Street has cast its first ever actor with Down’s Syndrome, Liam Bairstow, to play Cathy Matthews’ nephew Alex.
Producer Stuart Blackburn has revealed the 25-year-old star was discovered after the soap held a workshop for actors with disabilities, and he praised Liam’s “lovely sense of timing”.
He said: “We ran a workshop for actors with disabilities.
“We recognise that they get so few auditions and we found Liam who was just brilliant.
This isn’t some politically correct thing. We’ve actually discovered a really great actor with a lovely sense of timing and the cast have been loving working with him.”
Coronation Street announced the news on their official Twitter account, writing: “Cathy’s nephew Alex to be played by Liam Bairstow who was cast during ITV’s”
Liam was a member of the Mind the Gap theatre group and previously admitted he would love to star on an ITV soap such as Emmerdale.
