Coronation Street’s Tina O’Brien has confirmed her father has died.

The actress, who has played Sarah Platt in the ITV soap since 1999, took to her Instagram Stories to reveal the sad news.

In a statement, she wrote:

‘I’ve been a little quiet on here. My dad died recently. I haven’t quite known how to put it into words.

‘My heart is very heavy but I’m grateful he is no longer suffering.’

The star added: ‘Thank you to everyone who’s held me steady through this difficult time. I love you. You mean the world to me.’

The statement ended with a rainbow, star, heart and praying hands emojis.

Tina’s Corrie character Sarah is one of three Platt siblings. When she isn’t dealing with drama involving the likes of Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) and David Platt (Jack P Shepherd), she’s dealing with the chaos that comes with working at Underworld or drama from daughter Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon).

Sarah is in a relationship with a local police officer called Kit Green (Jacob Roberts), who also happens to be David’s mortal enemy.

This week, they progress in their relationship as Kit moves into Sarah’s flat.

Elsewhere, Sarah and son Harry recently played a part in Todd Grimshaw’s (Gareth Pierce) storyline. After Harry spilt a drink on the seat of Todd’s new car, he grew fearful that his violent boyfriend Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) would react badly to the development.

While in front of Sarah and Harry, Theo made out like it wasn’t too much of a big deal. However, in the flat, Theo’s anger exploded again. He threw dinner plates across the room and then proceeded to pour a bottle of milk on Todd’s head.

Prior to Kit, Sarah was in a relationship with Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson), and Damon Hay (Ciaran Griffiths) was also another love interest of hers.

Tina’s daughter Scarlett, who she shares with former Corrie star Ryan Thomas, is following in the footsteps of her parents’ passion for acting.

Scarlett currently plays Izzy Charles in Waterloo Road, the daughter of Donte Charles, who is played by Ryan’s brother Adam Thomas.