Coronation Street’s Abi Webster (Sally Carman) was dealt with some major truths as her affair with her brother-in-law Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) heated up on Monday night’s episode
Abi Webster on Coronation Street was dealt with a series of truth bombshells as her affair with her brother-in-law Carl heated up during Monday night’s episode.
The mechanic, played by Sally Carman, is married to Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) on the ITV soap but viewers have seen things bubbling away between her and Carl (Jonathan Howard) for several weeks now. Things came to a head last week when she found out that Kevin, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year, had chosen not to tell her that he had been given the all-clear as he suspected something was up.
It was then that Abi finally decided to act on her feelings for Carl and they became physical at the garage, but Abi called the whole thing off just hours later when Carl urged her to go back to her husband. As viewers will know, this was because Kevin discovered that Carl that he and accomplice Fiona Morley (Sara Poyzer) had organised the theft of an expensive car, and could have him arrested at any moment. It comes as one Coronation Street star announced an abrupt exit which saw their alter-ego ‘killed off’ without warning.
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On Monday, when barmaid Glenda Shuttleworth (Jodie Prenger) asked Kevin how his cancer treatment was going, he could not come up with a lie quick enough, so Abi took it upon herself to announce that Kevin had finished his chemo and had been given the all-clear, but covered for him by not revealing that this had actually been the case for several weeks. Glenda announced the news to the pub, and Kevin kept up his pretence as she insisted on giving him a pint on the house as the other Weatherfield residents congratulated him.
While it initially looked like Carl had set his sights on Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) after buying her a drink in the pub, he was soon seen in bed with Abi, who had called round after becoming jealous that Carl had possibly invited Tracy round. Afterwards, he told her: “I didn’t have that on my to-do list. I will have to go to the Rovers more often!” But when Carl received a threatening text message from Fiona about their dodgy dealings, he had to reveal all to Abi after they got dressed. He confessed: “I have seriously messed up. I’ve been doing illegal MOT inspections. For that Fiona. Write-offs, cut and shuts. You name it, I’ve passed them all. And I’ve been doing it from Kev’s garage.”
He tried to explain to a shocked Abi that he had only been doing it to settle huge debts he had accrued but she shot back: “You told me that debt was paid! You lied?! Oh there’s a surprise! Those cars were not roadworthy. Someone could’ve died. Did it give you a bit of a thrill, ruining your brother’s business and then bedding his missus for good measure?!”
Amidst all this, Kevin invited Abi on a last-minute holiday with him but she told him that she has not forgiven him for all the lies he told her about his cancer. Following a heart-to-heart with her sister-in-law Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney), who was diagnosed with vascular dementia earlier this year, she accepted the invitation but demanded to know from Kevin why he failed to tell her about the MOT scam.
He explained: “Firstly, we couldn’t report it to the police, not without doing damage to the business. And secondly, he’s still my brother and I suppose I’m trying to protect him. For now, we forget about Carl, and concentrate on our marriage. He’s gone from the garage, he’s out of our lives and now it’s about us.”
Despite this, as Kevin was speaking to Abi, she received a text message and quickly read it before putting her phone back in her pocket. She then confronted Carl about the lies he had been telling, and he told her that he had been ‘blackmailed’ after he found out that about the cancer lie. She said: “I came here to call it off, to tell you that I’d forgiven him and I was going to make my marriage work,” but Carl quickly told Abu that she was no longer in love with Kevin.
She confirmed: “Yeah, but he loves me and even with the lies he makes me feel safe,” and reminded Carl that she has her son Alfie to think about as well. In deciding to keep their affair going, Carl vowed to be Abi’s ‘little secret’ for the time being and the pair promptly hopped back into bed together.
Carl is the son of Kevin’s dad Bill Webster (Peter Armitage) and his second wife Elaine (Judy Gridley) and spent most of his life in Germany with his parents until he arrived on the Manchester backstreet earlier this year. In real life, Jonathan spent 10 years in LA and working alongside big-name stars including Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, but the 38-year-old actor ranks landing a part in Corrie among his greatest achievements.
He told The Mirror : “Being in Coronation Street is just as big a thrill as being in a Hollywood film or an American TV series. It’s all the same, everyone’s telling stories, whether it’s a big $200m movie or a soap like Corrie. As a Lancashire lad born and raised, the dream was to be in Coronation Street – that was the ceiling, so it feels wonderfully surreal to now be acting with people like Kevin Webster that I watched religiously as a kid.
“My friends ask me, ‘what you have been up to today?’ and I reply ‘I took Tracy Barlow for a drink in the Rovers Return!’ It’s just incredible to say these things.”
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 .
