Barlows

Coronation Street has finally revealed what Maggie Driscoll saw on Ken Barlow’s sideboard several months ago as a major twist, and apparent retcon, took place on the ITV soap

Coronation Street has finally revealed what Maggie Driscoll saw in Ken Barlow’s cupboard – six moths ago. The Irish matriarch made her debut on the world’s longest-running soap towards the end of last year when she arrived to take over the famed Rovers Return pub, along with son Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker), daughter-in-law Eva Price (Catherine Tydlesley) and her grandchildren.

Since then, the family have not been short of drama, and they are currently in the middle of a controversial storyline which has seen teenager Will having an illicit affair with his teacher Megan Walsh, and it has been heavily implied that it has all been going on since he was underage. What’s more, viewers were subjected to a flashback episode, which was all set in Maggie’s native Ireland, where it was revealed that she had accidentally killed her husband Alan when he fell down the stairs during a row.

Fans will remember that around Halloween, she had called round to Ken Barlow’s house to borrow a bowl, and when Amy Barlow went into the cupboard to get it, she spotted something odd. Despite much speculation on social media about what Maggie had seen, viewers were left in the dark until now.

READ MORE: Coronation Street confirms bombshell twist as Maggie lets slip shocking truth

OPINION

Earlier this week, Maggie was having a row with Ben about Will’s situation when she let slip that Alan was not his biological father, and in the Easter Sunday episode, she finally revealed the truth to Ben. Initially, she claimed she “couldn’t remember” the name of his actual father, but when she heard that Ben’s son Ollie was spending some alone time with Amy Barlow, she couldn’t hold the truth back any longer.

Back at number one, things had been heating up between Amy and Ollie when she banged on the door. Maggie explained that Ben’s real father was none other than Jim McDonald (Charlie Lawson), who was recently killed off off-screen. This makes Ben Steve McDonald’s brother, and it makes Amy the cousin of Ollie. Famously married to fellow soap icon Liz, it transpired that Jim had been unfaithful to Liz almost 50 years ago.

Maggie said to Steve: “As soon as I saw that picture of your dad on the sideboard. At Halloween. You couldn’t make it up, could you?” Ben raged: “You let me go to my own da’s funeral without telling me?” but Steve was still convinced that she was lying.

Maggie said: “His name was Jim. Yes, I knew. Of course I did. He was 22, from Belfast. He had a moustache. He liked a drink. I knew he had family, but he was away from home, and he was lonely. I’m not trying to justify this. I know I can’t.”

Disgusted, Amy said: “I was snogging my own cousin! It’s not good enough just being part of one messed-up family, now I’ve got to be part of two,” and Maggie apologised profusely but Steve sent them all away, as he tore up the order of service from his father’s funeral.

Reacting to the twists, one fan said: “The mother of all bombshells from Maggie. Can’t wait for the fallout from this!” Another wrote: “Poor Steve. Finding out your new friend is actually your half-brother but to find out your father had cheated then hid it your entire life is another especially when said father is dead. “

A third wrote: “No you couldn’t make it up but someone did,” and another said: “That Maggie reveal and the reactions were very underwhelming. Her just seeing something in the cupboard on Halloween was more suspenseful!”

The event could be considered a major rewrite of Coronation Street history as for much of his time on the programme, Jim was famously married to Rovers landlady Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard), and, while the marriage survived numerous infidelities on her side, it collapsed for the first time when she admitted to having had an affair with his army colleague.

Jim also endured numerous spells in prison, and a second attempt at marriage with Liz came to an end in 2005, but, as far as viewers were aware, Jim had never been unfaithful to his wife, whom he referred to as Elizabeth.

In the weeks leading up to the death of Jim, actor Charlie Lawson criticised his final storyline, which saw Jim uncharacteristically decide to con Liz out money by pretending that his girlfriend was the daughter they had lost several years earlier.

Charlie, who has also appeared in The Bill, Bread and Doctors throughout his lengthy television career and also worked extensively in theatre, recently hit out at the “weak” storyline, which was brought in when Kate Oates, who later went on to work on EastEnders, was in charge of the soap.

Charlie said: “The storyline was weak. So many people contacted me to say they hated it. I agreed to it before I even saw the script. The work was lucrative — you can’t really turn it down. Now he can’t be ruined any more. He’s out of his misery.

“I know I will watch that last scene and be able to say, ‘Well, what a load of s***e that was’. I will raise a glass to the old Jim, the one I loved and was proud of, who spoke his mind, with cracking, strong storylines in the Nineties.”

Speaking to The Sun, he added: “There are some bits I will miss about Corrie and some I won’t. But I have no regrets. That’s just life, so it is.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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