Claire Sweeney paid a touching tribute to Ricky Hatton during a live appearance on ITV's This Morning on Tuesday, June 16. The Coronation Street actress spoke with presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard about her latest role in Annie the Musical and her upcoming departure from the soap. During the conversation, she fondly remembered the late boxer, who tragically passed away in September 2025.
A Close Friendship
Claire and Ricky had been close friends and shared a romantic relationship for several months after appearing together on Dancing On Ice in 2024. She posted a moving tribute on social media after his death. A commemorative event was held last week to honor the boxer's memory.
Ben Shephard, who trained with Ricky for a Sport Relief boxing fight, recalled his experiences. 'He trained me for my boxing fight on Sport Relief all those years ago. He was my trainer, so I got to go to his gym. He was still fighting as well, and he put me through my paces, absolutely broke me,' Ben said.
Claire responded, 'I bet he made you laugh as well, didn't he?' Ben agreed, 'Endlessly. When you're broken on the floor in piles of sweat, he'd just make you laugh.'
A Legend Remembered
Ben described the tribute as amazing and noted that Ricky would be remembered as an icon. Claire added, 'Yeah, absolutely. I feel very blessed that he was in my life. He was wonderful, a great man. His send-off, the funeral, was amazing, and he was a legend. A good, good man.'
Ben concurred, 'A really good man. Sorely missed, but so fondly remembered,' before reminiscing about Ricky's memorable stint on Dancing On Ice. 'He was terrible!' Claire laughed. Ben commented, 'He was absolutely shocking, but he was a sporting icon that was happy to be seen as the joker. That's what was always so special about him.'
Claire continued, 'And all he wanted to do was to skate to that song, If I Believe, the Elvis song? He just wanted to skate to that song, and it was great.' She added, 'I'm so glad you trained with him.' Ben wrapped up, '[I] loved it, loved it.'
Coronation Street Exit
Later in the interview, Claire hinted at a 'blast from the past' making an appearance on the cobbles as part of her character Cassie Plummer's exit storyline. She described the plot as 'heartbreaking', 'dramatic', and 'explosive'.
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am, while Coronation Street airs weekday nights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
