THE NEWEST star of Coronation Street has revealed she was ‘working six days a week at Tesco’ when she was offered her role.
Actress Sydney Mason was left utterly shocked when she was given life-changing news that she will become a soap star.
She’s just 22-years-old and she joined Coronation Street to play Betsy, the 16-year-old daughter of police Detective Sergeant Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers).
Her character will have a key role within the storyline of the apparent murder of Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton).
When she landed the coveted role on the ITV show, she was working six days a week at her local branch of Tesco.
Whilst she was absolutely delighted to have landed the role, her father was not as immediately convinced about her future.
She explained: “I went to Tesco and handed in my notice, then told my parents.
“My dad was like, ‘No, you shouldn’t have handed your notice in’. He asked me, ‘Are you sure? Have you signed the contract?’ He even said I wouldn’t get a reference from Tesco now.”
The new soap star also revealed the exact moment she recieved the news she was hired from the soap by her agent.
“I was with my flatmates, watching Pitch Perfect 3 – it was the opening credits. I said, ‘It’s going to be a no, so just keep watching’.
“Then my agent said, ‘Go hand in your notice!’ My flatmate picked me up and we just cried together. We didn’t finish Pitch Perfect.”
Acting was not necessarily on the agenda for the young actress, as she admitted her other plans involved nature.
“Randomly, I wanted to be a zookeeper when I was younger,” Sydney admitted.
“I didn’t really know anything about acting. I loved doing shows when I was a kid – I was shy but when I got on the stage, I loved it.
“I never knew it was a career and something you could go into, which sounds silly. But in sixth form, I had the most amazing drama teacher – who I owe everything to – so I thought, ‘Why not give it a shot?’”
But knowing the industry, the blonde beauty admitted that she understands why her father was nervous about her career moves.
Despite being the daughter of a senior Police officer, it seems she has an unusual backstory.
“Betsy’s been brought up by two female detectives but seems to have contempt for the law,” the actress remarked.
“She lost her other mum when she was on duty so she has some disrespect for the career. But if she gets in trouble she’s, like, ‘Mum, you can get me out of it’.
She added: “There’s this sort of playfulness there… she’s a bit naive and thinks the law doesn’t apply to her.
“She’s like my alter ego. She’s so confident and so feisty. I’d have loved to have been that confident at her age.”
