Claire Sweeney is British actress, known predominantly for her role as Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 Soap Opera "Brookside"

The character of Lindsey has been at the centre of many of Brookside`s groundbreaking and shocking storylines. As often happens, the character Claire played so convincingly, bore no relation to her own upbringing and life as a talented girl-next-door who struggled a little academically at school but excelled in her chosen field of singing and acting.

Born , Claire Jane Sweeney , on the 17th April 1971 , in her hometown of Liverpool - England, she found her way to the Elliot Clarke Drama school in Liverpool. Many of the talents she displayed there would gain her enough credit to be invited to train at the world renowned Italia Conti school of performance Art based in London. Her chosen career would have been as a singer. Recently on national T.V. she has had the opportunity to display this talent despite it having taken a backseat during her tenure as a resident regular at Brookside Close. Initially , on leaving the Italia Conti school, she undertook bookings as a cabaret singer, and also performed as a Cabaret act on Cruise liners for a few years. Following in the footsteps of her chosen Idol, Barbara Streisand, she tried her hand at acting. Initially, her stay in Brookside was to be brief...merely a couple of episodes. Itchy Feet and a desire to travel prompted Claire to sign up as a resident act on a Cruise liner... prematurely calling a halt to her acting career, but once back on solid ground, she contacted Brookside with a view to rekindling the Lindsey Corkhill character. The rest is televisual history.

Claire recently left the Brookside show to try her hand on the stage in Chicago. The actress was far from a flop as she took the main role of Roxie Hart on Monday, to fulfil a childhood dream of taking the lead in a musical. But reviewers, while agreeing she passed the test, were not united in bestowing praise on her performance. Daily Mail's Michael Coveney wrote that Sweeney is "too darned nice"! (Sounds like a compliment to me.) In her favour Robert Gore-Langton wrote: "Sassy and kooky, Ms Sweeney makes jailbird Roxie her own. It's a joyous debut of pure charm."

After she came offstage, Sweeney admitted she had had an "amazing year". "Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamt of starring in a West End show and this is one of those times where the reality is even better than the dream," she said. Sweeney followed stars like Denise Van Outen and Ruthie Henshall in donning the skimpy outfits for the role of Roxie in the show at London's Adelphi Theatre.