CORONATION Street star Antony Cotton surprised players at Mecca in Bolton on Friday night when he became a celebrity bingo caller.

The actor, who plays Sean Tully in the soap, took a leaf out of his character’s book — he was a bingo caller in 2005 until Vera Duckworth accused him of cheating.

The 38-year-old actor went on stage to a cheer from the crowd and took the teasing about his bingo-calling style in good humour.

Antony, from Bury, came to help launch a new partnership between the Rank Group’s Mecca and Grosvenor Casinos and the Carers Trust, which supports carers.

He said: “A shocking fact is that three in five people will end up being an unpaid carer, whether for a family member, a partner or a friend.

“It’s something that you don’t like to think about, but before you know it somebody could have a fall, not recover quickly enough and then before you know it they end up incapacitated.

“But they often can’t afford to pay for a carer because they are expensive, so people are having to be a carer for a loved one and there’s no support for them unless they get help from the trust.”

Antony also hit a heart-shaped gong to celebrate the new partnership between the Rank Group and trust.

Luen Thompson, of the Carers Trust, said: “The partnership is going to raise money to help give something back to carers, whether it be a weekend break or a new washing machine.”

For more information about the trust: visit carers.org