Corrie actress fired after 'lying about her age'

Katie Redford told show bosses she was 19, when she was in fact 25 Credit: Jo McLintock/ITV

An actress hired to play a new character in Coronation Street has been fired after fans discovered she had lied about her age at the audition.

Nottingham-born Katie Redford told show bosses she was 19 when she was given the part of 14-year-old Bethany Platt - the daughter of Sarah-Louise (played by Tina O'Brien).

But it later emerged she was actually 25, and would have turned 26 by the time she made her on-screen debut - more than a decade older than the character she was hired to play.

The fib was foiled when Corrie fans searched for the actress online after her casting was announced last week, and found photographs from her 25th birthday on Twitter.

A spokeswoman for the show has now confirmed the role is now being recast.

Tina O'Brien, who plays Sarah-Louise Platt, will also be returning to the show Credit: PA

The character of Bethany, Gail McIntyre (Helen Worth)'s granddaughter, will arrive in Weatherfield after living abroad for a number of years with her mother Sarah-Louise, who famously fell pregnant while still in school.

A spokeswoman for the actress confirmed she auditioned "as a 19-year-old".