Sue Devaney has addressed the heartbreaking twist for her ITV soap character and her brother
Debbie Webster with brothers Kevin and Carl on her wedding day in Coronation Street(Image: ITV)
Coronation Street star Sue Devaney has addressed the heartbreaking twist that has seen Carl Webster using his sister Debbie Webster’s devastating health diagnosis for his own advantage.
Those who follow the ITV soap know that Carl’s arrival in Weatherfield is the first time viewers have ever seen him, with the younger half-sibling of Kevin and Debbie Webster having only been mentioned by name previously.
It didn’t take him long to cause drama on the cobbles, having taken a shine to his sister-in-law Abi Webster. Having flirted up a storm following an altercation in Freshco’s car park, later, Abi was shocked to see Carl arrive at the Bistro, with Kevin and Debbie excited to see their little brother.
As is no surprise in soapland, Abi and Carl soon embarked on an affair, which broke Kevin’s heart and almost tore the Webster clan apart. But it’s not just Carl’s love life, with him also sleeping with James Bailey, that is horrifying Corrie viewers, as he’s also using Debbie’s dementia diagnosis as a way to steal money from her and her business, the Chariot Square Hotel.
But his lies could have dangerous consequences as Debbie and Ronnie Bailey’s wedding goes ahead in the New Year. With 2026 underway Sally Metcalfe, Bernie Winter, Christina Boyd and Glenda Shuttleworth help Debbie with her wedding prep. But when Debbie reveals that she’s broken her specs and is worried it’s a bad omen, Bernie promises to find something to bring her luck.
But as the guests head into the wedding venue, where are Bernie and Debbie? Meanwhile, Abi finds a bag full of cash in the boot of Carl’s car but when they pull up at the hotel, Abi opens the boot and discovers the bag is gone. Finding Kevin outside, Abi reveals she thinks Carl is planning to do a runner, leaving him incandescent. As Kevin stands up to make his speech on his sister’s big day, what has he got planned?
Debbie is being used by her younger brother(Image: ITV)
Eventually having made her grand entry, Debbie senses the tension between Kevin and Carl, Debbie orders them to pack it in. As the wedding gets underway, and Debbie performs with the dementia choir, will Carl and Kevin be able to keep their promise or is their feud about to ruin Debbie and Ronnie’s dream day?
Asked whether Debbie is aware of the behind-the-scenes drama that is starting to unfold between Abi and Carl and what’s going on towards the end of the wedding, Sue shared: “I think that she’s asked Kevin to not fall out and to just be friends, just to get through the day.
“She knows that Carl and Kevin aren’t getting on very well. Abi and Carl have split up, but she can’t keep up with everything because it’s like one minute they’re together, then they’ve split up. And I think there’s going to be a lot of tension around the wedding where Abi is watching out for Carl because she doesn’t trust him. But Carl, in Debbie’s eyes, can’t do anything wrong, because she loves her brother.
On whether Debbie is really oblivious to her brother taking advantage of her ill health, Sue admitted: “I think she’s letting him get away with little bits of things. I think Debbie’s… she’s not that far down the line that she doesn’t see things. Love is blind, isn’t it? Yeah, love is blind.”
It’s Debbie and Ronnie’s wedding day(Image: ITV)
And it seems Debbie and Ronnie’s big day is linked to the number of Weatherfield favourites who find themselves on a dark and stormy country road near the village of Hotten, where one night changes everything as a multi-vehicle pile-up will see the Street’s residents come face-to-face with those from the Emmerdale village in the most dramatic of circumstances.
The special episode, dubbed Corriedale, is a celebration of the soap genre and will launch the network’s new ‘soap power hour’ scheduling pattern for Coronation Street and Emmerdale, with both soaps airing every weekday for half an hour each from 8pm.
Speaking about how she feels about being in the 40-strong cast list for the historic TV event, Sue said: “I was thrilled. I was so thrilled. I’ll tell you why: because when we’re filming Corrie, we come to work, we come to the studio every day. Corriedale was on location. It was also being with Emmerdale – it was being with a new crew, a director who works between the two.
“But it was exciting because we were doing night shoots, working with different cameras. We were on location and we were all staying in a hotel. So it was like, ‘Oh, I’m on my holidays!’ It was really good fun and it was exciting because it’s something fun to do. And also with all the stunts. It felt like doing a little movie or something.”