Coronation Street revealed surprise death news in Monday’s episode of the ITV soap and Debbie Webster has implied that all is not what it seems after the surprise passing
Coronation Street aired scenes of a shock death on Monday evening. Earlier this year, Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) arrived as the long-lost half brother of Kevin Webster, and whilst things were going well to begin with, their reunion quickly soured when it was revealed that Carl had been having an affair with his brother’s wife Abi.
Little is known about Carl’s past, but what has been established is that he grew up in Germany with his parents Bill and Elaine Webster. Bill was the father of Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney), and their mother Alison never appeared on the programme, having died in 1980. Carl was then born to Bill and Elaine off-screen in 1986.
On Monday’s episode of the world’s longest-running TV soap, Abi was at Debbie’s hen-do when she got a panicked phone call and rushed straight home. Once there, Carl revealed to her that his mother had died, and he had been completely unaware that she had been fighting cancer.
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For the first time, Carl began to open up about his mother to Abi and hinted at a mystery that was never solved between the pair. He said: “She was… formidable. Not the most loving of mothers, that’s for sure. Our relationship was tricky. I knew she wanted me to settle down, get married and have kids and all then.
“I was immature back then – late developer. She did bail me out a few times, though, let me stay at hers, when I hit the skids. I remember my 30th, I had to come home, tail between my legs, after my latest job and relationship had gone pear-shaped.
“She was back in Southampton then. I must’ve been there a week and I hadn’t really got out of bed. She came in my room one morning, dragged me out of bed and said we were going to the beach. I hadn’t been to the beach with my mum since I was a little boy.
“And I said I was sorry for being a mess. 30 and still kipping in my mum’s spare room. She was quiet for a long time and then said I deserved more from my growing up. But if I knew what had happened, then I would understand why.”
Abi then asked if she ever explained herself to him, and Carl replied: “No. I’m sorry Abi, for being the kind of person that not even a mother can love.” It was then that Abi pulled Carl in close, her eyes wide, clearly worried about what her partner had just said to her. She later reminded him that just because Elaine rarely called, that didn’t make him a bad son, and Debbie then burst in, having heard that something terrible had happened.
Through tears, Carl told his half-sister: “Apparently she’d been in the hospice for months. I didn’t even know that she was ill,” and when he and Abi voiced their dismay that Elaine had never been in touch, Debbie began to justify it. She said: “Well, we don’t know what’s gone on, do we?
“She might not have been well enough.” Carl then asked Debbie when she last spoke to Elaine, and the hotel owner quickly claimed that they hadn’t spoken since Bill died, which would have been in 2023.
But there was a further twist in store when Debbie, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia earlier this year, went home to her fiancé Ronnie. When he said it was odd that Elaine had not got in touch with the family, Debbie revealed: “She tried to. Recently. I just… I just forgot to tell him. With everything going on, it just… it just went out of my head.
“I haven’t told Carl – I can’t. He’d never forgive me. Ronnie, don’t tell him, will you? I feel terrible Really terrible.” When Ronnie reassured Debbie that it wasn’t her fault and she didn’t do it on purpose, she didn’t respond and simply gave a weird look.
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads