Coronation Street casts actor with Down’s Syndrome – newcomer Liam Bairstow to

Actor Liam Bairstow will join the soap later this year to play Alex, the nephew of Roy Cropper’s latest love interest Cathy Matthews.

Producer Stuart Blackburn explained that the held the “Breaking Through” workshop because the production team recognise that actors with Down’s syndrome get very few auditions.

The 26-year-old star was discovered after he took part in ITV’s Breakthing Through Talent disability workshop. It’s not some politically correct thing. “The cast have really enjoyed working with him”.

Bairstow has been a member of disability theatre company Mind The Gap since 2009.

The world’s longest-running television soap, Coronation Street, has just cast its first ever actor who has Down syndrome!

Bairstow’s casting follows a guest appearance from disabled actor Peter Mitchell in Coronation Street in April.

“I would love to be on TV”.

On the ITV website, he’s quoted as saying: ‘He’s going to be coming in as Cathy’s nephew. “I remember when ITV’s Katherine Kelly visited Mind the Gap to congratulate our director on the success of the company so I would love to be on ITV, maybe playing a Dingle in Emmerdale!” he said. Coronation Street viewers will know that Cathy met Roy, played by David Neilson, through neighbouring allotments and the pair have become friends.

We’re excited to see what Liam and fellow Corrie newbie Ted Robbins will get up to on the show, and we’re also giving a big thumbs up to Coronation Street for giving Liam his big break. They went along to the set where it’s filmed, and Liam was offered the part. “When we saw the scripts we realised that Alex, the character he plays, is basically Liam!”