Boxing legend Ricky Hatton and his ex-girlfriend Coronation Street’s Claire Sweeney(Image: Claire Sweeney Instagram)
Ricky Hatton’s whirlwind eight-month romance with Coronation Street actress Claire Sweeney made headlines as the Manchester and Liverpool-born stars found love on an ice rink.

The former world boxing champion, who tragically died aged 46 on Sunday (September 14), reconnected with the actress, famed for her role as Cassie Plummer in ITV’s Corrie, while participating in Dancing on Ice early last year. Although they had known each other for years, it was their stint on the now-defunct ITV competition show that sparked rumours of a budding romance, after being spotted together on several pub outings.

Their first public appearance as a couple came in May 2024, when they graced the red carpet at the grand opening of the £365m Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. Both stars shared snaps from the event on their Instagram accounts, posing together at the press boards for celebrities and VIPs at the arena’s welcome event.

Soon after, the pair were spotted soaking up the sun on a holiday in Tenerife, and enjoyed a long weekend in Mallorca with Hatton’s family. In July of the same year, the Manchester City fan confirmed that he and Claire had been dating for five months. During an interview with Prime Casino, Hatton admitted that while he didn’t join the ITV show in search of love, he did hope to avoid any injuries, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Speaking about the romance, ‘The Hitman’ revealed: “I’ve known Claire for a while. I’ve met her at a few functions and at different events over the years. Every time we’ve spoken we’ve hit it off and got on with each other.”

Claire Sweeney and Ricky Hatton’s romance heated up fast on Dancing on Ice(Image: FILE)

He continued by explaining that during ice skating training they clicked “straight away” and when the show began “got on even better.”

Ricky admitted he had “half a chance” at winning over Claire due to how brilliantly they connected whenever they crossed paths. He revealed that he was aware she was single and confessed: “I knew how we had got on so well every time we met each other. I probably thought I had half a chance.

“It’s amazing [to find] someone you’ve probably known for 25 years. I’ve been in relationships and she’s been in relationships. I’ve had my kids and she’s had her kids. And then 25 years later we found each other. It’s quite a nice story.”

Dancing on Ice stars Ricky Hatton and Claire Sweeney had a whirlwind romance(Image: Instagram)
He also quipped to the Mirror following his brief appearance on Dancing on Ice: “I got knocked out in the first round, but I was able to able to meet Claire. I was always a Billy no mates at these things before Claire.”

Speaking about their partnership, he enthused: “No, it’s great! Me and Claire have been together about five months now,” before declaring: “Long may it continue!” Claire previously revealed on ITV’s Lorraine: “I’ve known Ricky for, like, 25 years. We always passed each other at events.”

She went on to say: “We did a TV show together. First of all I met him in the early 2000s, then we did Dance for Comic Relief together in 2013. Then met on Dancing on Ice and it’s great.”

The ex-Brookside actress added: “He makes me laugh, and we both like Only Fools and Horses, so what’s not to like?”

However, it was reported last December that Claire and Ricky had parted ways. The split occurred just before Christmas and when questioned about the breakup during a red carpet event, Claire told MailOnline: “I’m great – we’re still friends, we were friends, we dated and now we’re friends again. It’s all good!”.

Despite their split, the former pair continued to publicly back each other. Prior to Ricky’s untimely death, it was announced he was due to fight UAE boxer Eisa Al Dah at middleweight on December 2 in Dubai.

Ricky Hatton and Claire Sweeney dated for eight months after Dancing on Ice(Image: rickyhitmanhatton/Instagram)

The Stockport-born pugilist was meant to jet off to a press conference to announce the match, but had to stay put after suffering an eye injury at an Oasis reunion gig in Cardiff.

Although he couldn’t attend in person, he made an appearance via video call, where he stated: “I’m very much looking forward to it myself, to be honest with you. What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”

In a display of solidarity, his ex-partner Claire took to Instagram to post a video of the announcement, captioning it with: “This is brilliant.”