Inside the life of Sue Cleaver from reconnecting with birth family to shedding pounds

Coronation Street's very own Sue Cleaver, famed for her portrayal of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap, is set to grace our screens on James Martin's Saturday Morning, sharing the spotlight with comedian Leigh Francis. The seasoned 61-year-old actress has been a fixture on the cobbles as Eileen since the year 2000.

Stepping away from the glitz of showbiz, Sue has candidly shared insights into her personal life, including her journey to reconnect with her birth mother and her remarkable weight loss story.

Hailing from Hertfordshire, Sue was adopted but later unearthed details about her biological family, which includes her two half-sisters, fellow actresses Emma and Kate Harbour. Unaware of her birth mother's identity until her acting career had begun, it remained a mystery.

In a twist worthy of a drama itself, during her 1986 performance in 'Oedipus' at the Royal Exchange Theatre, a fellow actor noted her striking resemblance to his wife. Curious about her origins and date of birth, he made a call to his wife Lesley with an astonishing declaration: "I've found her."

Sue learned that her birth mother, Lesley Sizer Grieve, had made the difficult decision to give her up for adoption at just 17 years old. Born Claire Grieve, she was welcomed into the loving arms of Fred and Joan Cleaver, who became her adoptive parents, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Reflecting on the poignant first encounter with her birth mother, Sue described in her memoir the overwhelming emotions she felt: "The walk to the door felt like it went on forever. I felt such a mixture of anticipation, excitement, fear and adrenaline."

Their meeting unfolded into the early hours, as Sue recounted: "We embraced and just talked and talked until 5am. It was almost like a love story."

"The first two weeks were very heady; we had to be around each other, we had to call each other. She never ever felt like my mum. My Mum who brought me up is [my] mum. But there was a definite attachment."

Regrettably, Lesley died at the onset of the Covid pandemic, but Sue maintains a close relationship with her half-sisters.

Another significant aspect of her life is her weight loss journey, with the star having lost three stone.

She disclosed a simple secret to losing weight - eliminating red wine while preparing evening meals.

In a conversation with Woman Magazine, Sue revealed that after successfully completing Dry January last year, she has since chosen to abstain from alcohol entirely.

She also found herself compelled to address allegations that she had used diet gummies for weight loss. On Instagram, she stated: "I'm really, really sad that I have to actually make this video. I've had quite a lot of messages over the last couple of weeks asking me about Keto gummies."

"There's obviously some scam going around saying that I lost weight using Keto gummies... well it's cr*p. It's a scam. And if you've been taken in by it I'm so, so sorry. It's outrageous. I just want you to know that I would never, ever advocate anything like that."

The mother-of-one was previously married to James Quinn between 1993 and 2003. She later wed Brian Owen, a lighting technician, after meeting him on the set of Coronation Street.