Carl Webster, Megan Walsh, Theo Silverton, Maggie Driscoll and Jodie Ramsey are in a killer’s firing line and tonight’s flashforward episode will keep fans guessing
The five Coronation Street characters at risk of a grisly death have been revealed. One of the ITV soap’s stars will meet their end the identities of the possible murder victims have been confirmed as viewers prepare to be taken back to the future in the show’s much anticipated flashforward episode. But will it be a villian on a much-loved character getting the boot?
Groomer Megan Walsh, manipulative Theo Silverton and twisted Carl Webster could be getting their comeuppance in April. But quirky landlady Maggie Driscoll is also in the firing like, as is strange newcomer Jodie Ramsey, who appears to have a whole load of family bagage to unload.
The groundbreaking episode begins with a police interview taking place on April 23rd 2026. As the drama unfolds a shocked and Betsy Swain is seen telling the detectives about finding the dead body of someone she knows.
Dressed in wedding clothes, the cop’s daughter explains that she had been at the marriage of her mum Lisa Swain to Carla Connor, but was heading into town when she made the shocking discovery. As the episode returns to the present day we begin to see how the behaviour of the five characters could lead to their possible death two months later.
Evil teacher Megan is caught up in a web of lies as she continues to groom impressionable teen Will Driscoll. Doing anything to protect her family, Maggie gives a fake alibi for Will to stop him being charged with the Christmas Day attack on Daniel Osbourne.
Carl has burnt all his bridges when he let Debbie take the blame for the Corriedale accident which saw Billy Mayhew perish. Since finding out Debbie is actually his mum and not his sister, Carl has pressed the self-destruct button and as he continues to goad both family and neighbours – he would have no shortage of people looking to settle a score.
Theo’s coercive control over Todd has reached new lows and with their wedding looming, will Todd finally confide in his friends about what has been going on before it is too late?
Despite initial reservations, the Platts have welcomed Shona’s estranged sister Jodie Ramsey into their home. But Jodie has been keeping secrets from them, and it seems she has got mixed up with some pretty shady characters in her past. Will trouble follow Jodie to Weatherfield, or could she upset people closer to home with her behaviour?
As the episode comes to a close we flash forward again to April 23 and the five characters are on the cobbles as Lisa and Carla’s wedding fireworks light up the night sky.
As the lights flicker a battered and bruised Carl, frantic Jodie, a menacing Maggie, a bloody-nosed Megan and a furtive Theo stare into the darkness. In the final moments the terrified scream of Betsy Swain fills the air – but which Weatherfield resident will be the murder victim?
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior says he is not “bothered at all” by memes comparing him to television characters.
The 43-year-old has won seven of his first nine games in charge of the Blues but fans online have poked fun at his mannerisms.
Rosenior says he is not on social media so his teenage children have informed him of the comparisons to popular TV characters that are being made, which include Inbetweeners character Will McKenzie and David Brent from the Office.
“I’m not afraid to be myself,” said Rosenior.
“If I wear glasses, if I sound a little bit over the top when I speak, or articulate myself in a certain way, or I don’t look like a manager, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Former Strasbourg boss Rosenior says the memes affect his family but he is not troubled by them because he expected the reaction from the moment he took the Chelsea job.
Rosenior was a surprise appointment for the role after Enzo Maresca’s departure in January following a breakdown in his relationship with the owners.
“The reason I know is because I’ve got teenage children,” added Rosenior
“They’re on social media. It affects them, it affects my parents and my family. But I knew walking in to this job it was going to happen. It’s normal.
“When you’re prepared for it, it makes you smile. I’m a confident person. If you’re affected by things like that, you shouldn’t be in this job.”
Since joining Chelsea, Rosenior has become just the second English manager to win his first four Premier League matches.
Last month he also guided Chelsea to the last 16 of the Champions League following a 3-2 win at Napoli.
The Blues sit fifth in the Premier League – one point behind fourth-placed Manchester United – and host 16th-placed Leeds on Tuesday.
A Reddit user was baffled as to how American TV characters never seem to say ‘goodbye’ when ending a phone call
TV characters never say bye on US TV shows(Image: Getty)
If you’ve ever watched an American film or TV programme, you may have clocked that characters rarely utter ‘goodbye’ before ending a phone conversation.
Instead, they simply cut the call short without a second’s hesitation, seemingly unbothered by what might elsewhere be deemed discourteous.
Yet there’s actually a proper filmmaking explanation behind why characters skip the pleasantries when ringing off – and it boils down to pure practicality.
Baffled by this phenomenon, one Reddit user asked: “Why do most characters just hang up the phone without saying goodbye? Over the past few years, I have seen people just hanging up.
“Sometimes mid-conversation, but mostly not. It’s like saying bye on the phone isn’t the norm anymore. Is this just to save time during the show or is it a cultural thing in the US?”.
Addressing the mystery head-on, screenwriter and producer Michael Jamin clarified matters in a TikTok clip that’s since racked up over 206,000 likes.
On his account @michaeljaminwriter, Michael – whose credits include King of the Hill, Wilfred and Maron – revealed how the television business labels phrases like ‘goodbye’ as ‘shoe leather’.
He explained: “Shoe leather might make a scene feel more realistic – but it doesn’t necessarily make the scene more entertaining.
“In TV, we also have running times. We have to turn in a cut to the network for like 22 minutes. They won’t accept 22 minutes and 30 seconds. Knowing this, we always shoot long maybe 25 minutes knowing that not every scene is going to be great.
“We want to have a liberty to trim and pace up a bit – but we don’t know where.”
Michael explains that whilst trimming the opening couple of minutes proves straightforward, deciding what to axe beyond that becomes increasingly difficult.
He added: “You’re like, if I cut the guy saying goodbye then maybe I get to keep my favourite joke. Eventually, you get to the point where you’re not even writing the bye into the script knowing you’ll just cut it later.”
The admission sparked plenty of reaction online, with one viewer admitting: “Oh I thought it was for dramatic effect like they are too cool to say goodbye.”
Another added: “From now on, I will quit saying goodbye and use that time to maybe go on vacation when I’m old.”
A third wrote: “I’m from Europe and when I was younger I thought that’s the way people in the US end their phone calls…” Whilst another said: “So glad you weighed in on this. I’m a firm believer that it’s more distracting to say goodbye in a film or tv show. Big fan Michael!”
Emmerdale actor Dominic Brunt has addressed his character Paddy Dingle’s turmoil, as he covers up his father Bear Wolf’s killer crime after he murdered Ray Walters
07:15, 03 Feb 2026Updated 07:20, 03 Feb 2026
Emmerdale fans are used to seeing Paddy Dingle at the centre of comedic mishaps, but his latest plot sees him covering up a murder(Image: ITV)
Emmerdale fans are used to seeing Paddy Dingle at the centre of comedic mishaps and the more heartfelt moments, but his latest plot sees him covering up a brutal murder.
For the first time in his 29 years on the soap, Paddy, played by actor Dominic Brunt, could face prison as the truth unravels. A recent flashback episode saw Paddy’s father Bear Wolf [Joshua Richards] confirmed as villain Ray Walters’ killer, with Paddy now determined to stop anyone from finding out.
Next week, Paddy realises his dad needs professional help as Bear continues to spiral. With teenager Dylan Penders, also covering up the crime, feeling the strain and ready to crack, Paddy’s left picking up the pieces to prevent the police from learning what really happened to Ray. Dominic, 55, is delighted about the killer twist though, as he teases his future in the village.
He says: “It’s such a good story. Paddy’s juggling everything at the moment, trying to keep everybody out of being done for murder and keeping the story straight. But it keeps unravelling and he keeps pulling all the strings back in, going: ‘Oh my God, we’ve got to stick to the story’.”
While it could lead to an exit for Bear if his crime is discovered, Dominic says Paddy isn’t worried about his own fate. He explains: “He fears that his dad will go away again. He thought he was dead and he’s back. And now Bear might go down for murder. Paddy is trying to save his dad, and save the fact that Dylan would be implicated in it as well, because we all hid the body.”
Bear vanished from the village in July last year, claiming he was visiting a friend in Ireland as he secretly battled depression. By the time Paddy realised his father was missing, Bear had already been manipulated by villain Ray and his evil mum Celia Daniels, in the soap’s heartbreaking modern slavery storyline.
Bear was kept at their farm for months until he fled at the end of December, while viewers, and village residents, were led to believe Celia had killed him. His sudden return earlier this month saw him accidentally killing Ray to save his son, and Dominic says Paddy will go to any lengths necessary to protect him in return.
He tells us: “Bear’s not ready to go to the police. He keeps going: ‘Should I go to the police? Should I just come clean? Should I tell them the truth?’ His dad is all over the place, he’s very sick, withdrawing from whatever drugs he was given and he’s completely unstable.
“So Paddy is trying to hide him away for now and then maybe in the near future they’ll just say to the police: ‘Alright, there he is, come and get him, we did it’. But at the moment he’s just trying to save his dad from more psychological pain after what he’s just been through with Ray and Celia.”
Dominic did reveal that other characters will soon uncover the truth, including his best friend Marlon Dingle, played by Mark Charnock. Marlon has also been caught up in Ray and Celia’s dark world after they exploited his teenage daughter April Windsor [Amelia Flanagan] into selling drugs, alongside her boyfriend Dylan.
When Marlon vowed to go to the police he was ignored, leading to sinister threats and payment demands by Ray. Dominic says the close friends will open up to each other about what they’ve been hiding, while Paddy is also set to confide in his wife Mandy Dingle [Lisa Riley].
Dominic says: “He definitely confides in Mandy. I think there’s an episode coming up with me and Mark, just a two-hander, where we spill the beans to each other and we become bonded again, which is lovely because they’ve got a three-decade-long friendship.”
Paddy has been at the heart of some huge storylines since his debut in 1997, including his five weddings, and the devastating loss of his baby daughter Grace after she was diagnosed with Bilateral Renal Agenesis, a rare life-limiting congenital condition.
Paddy also suffered depression and suicidal thoughts in a wideley-praised storyline in 2023, with Dominic keen to revisit Paddy’s mental health as he struggles through his latest turmoil. While the future looks bleak for Bear, Dominic says Paddy is confident that the father and son, and Dylan, will find a way to make it through their traumatic start to the new year.
He shares: “I think he truly believes that they’ll get through this, it’ll go away and nobody will be blamed and it’ll just become a village secret. But soaps being soaps, there’s got to be a moral outcome. His worst fear is that it all unravels and of course I think it does.”
