Liam Bairstow (born 1st April 1989) has appeared in Coronation Street since September 2015 as Alex Warner, the nephew of Cathy Matthews.
Liam was born with Down Syndrome and was discovered when the producers of Coronation Street ran a workshop for actors with disabilities named "Breaking Through". Impressed with his abilities, they offered him the role of Alex with Stuart Blackburn saying, "It's not some politically correct thing. We actually found there a really great actor with a wonderful sense of timing."
Liam joined an acting school specialising in nurturing disabled talent named "Mind The Gap" in 2009 at the age of 20, playing several roles with the company including a national tour of Treasure Island in which he had to portray six different characters.