Corrie star's pal claims he's refusing to pay him £250 for fixing his dodgy teeth
Sean Cernow, who played Coronation Street's Tony Byrne, is being accused of taking £250 off his former pal, before turning "aggressive" when asked for it back and blocking him
by Amelia Ward · The MirrorCoronation Street star Sean Cernow is refusing to pay his old school pal back £250 after he borrowed money to fix his dodgy teeth.
Allan Kato, 48, first met Tony Byrne actor Sean at drama school in Oldham as a teen, but the pair stayed in touch over the last 30 years. Earlier this year, Allan claims his friend told him he had dental problem and that two of his teeth had fallen out after he suffered an abscess.
According to English teacher Allan, the ITV star asked him for a lend in August, claiming he was struggling with money. After he got his teeth done, Allan says the actor refused to pay him back, leaving the West Yorkshire native out-of-pocket.
Allan, who now lives in Vietnam, said he just wanted to help him look "presentable" so he could get work, but instead claims his former friend turned on him "almost immediately". The actor then went on to block his pal on social media after he asked when he could get the money back.
Allan told The Sun : "He started getting aggressive when I asked him when he was going to pay me back. He told me to stop pressuring him and played the victim. He blocked me on all social media accounts after that."
Trying to appeal to Sean, he explained that he's "not rich" and can't afford to lose £250. He added that the whole story is ironic, as Sean's Corrie character Tony, who joined Weatherfield last year, had a story line where Ed Bailey owed him cash. At one point, he cornered his pal Ed, telling him he wants "the money by today - or else." Allan noted the plot was like "art imitating life".
Although Sean joined Corrie permanently in November last year as Ed Bailey's mate, it wasn't his first time acting in the ITV soap. In 2008 the 48-year-old Manchester born actor played an unnamed drug dealer. And, ten years later he returned to play villain Phil Warriner.
Speaking about undertaking his new role, Sean told Manchester Evening News: "I hope people are really going to like Tony, he's dead sweet and lovely. He has a past though and is an old friend of Ed's. At first he thinks, 'brilliant, Ed is helping me to get over the past', but what he doesn't realise is that the saint could actually be the sinner."
He added: "Because I always end up playing the bad guys, I've said in the past I'd love a punch up on the cobbles. Viewers will have to wait and see if that happens with Tony." Sean has also been in a number of huge blockbuster TV series including House of the Dragon on HBO and The Witcher on Netflix, starring alongside Henry Cavil.
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