Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street is planning an emotional new storyline for Bernie Winter-Alahan following the shocking death of Billy Mayhew. Show bosses are taking the caring character in an unexpected new direction this year, after she was rocked by the recent Corriedale tragedy.
The ITV soap has already explored a tough time for Bernie, as her beloved son Paul Foreman died in September 2024, with his Motor Neurone Disease (MND) story reaching a heartbreaking conclusion. Paul’s husband Billy had also become hugely important to Bernie over the years, so his sudden death will understandably hit her hard.
In a new interview, Coronation Street’s producer Kate Brooks explained: “Bernie’s such a fun character, but she’s really stoic and she’s watched her son die, which was horrific. Now she’s having to come to terms with the fact that Billy has also died.
“The thing with Bernie is that she wants to take care of people. She’s people’s rock, but as a result of that, she’s buried a lot of grief. If you cast your mind back to when Paul died, it was very rare that we saw Bernie lose it, or burst into tears.
ITV
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“She was strong for everyone, she’s the strength of that whole family. So we wanted to explore what would happen if she had to deal with another really tragic death – and how that grief manifests.”
Corrie fans saw a glimpse of Bernie’s devastation earlier this week, as she decided to close up Roy’s Rolls early when she couldn’t face the day at work. However, she did reluctantly serve surgeon Vincent Harper when he persistently paid two trips to the café that day.
“We take Bernie on a really interesting journey as she struggles,” Brooks continued. “It gets to the point where, because it’s been bubbling for such a long time, it eventually erupts.
“When it does, there are consequences for Bernie. It’s not as straightforward as Dev sweeping in and making sure that everything’s okay. It’s a really muddy, murky story that we take her on. I think it just again explores another side of Bernie that we’ve not seen yet.”
ITV
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The show’s producer left fans with hope that Bernie and Dev’s relationship can ultimately survive the turmoil to come.
She said: “Obviously it’s going to be a test for Bernie and Dev, but it’s a test that they are a really strong couple, and no matter what we throw at them, they can overcome because they love each other. They absolutely adore each other.
“It’s a big story for Bernie, and certainly Roy’s embroiled in that story as well. It’s a really interesting one to keep an eye on, because it’s going to be quite a big start of the year for Bernie.”
Billy was killed after driving the wedding minibus which crashed in the Corriedale special. Although Theo Silverton had a chance to save the much-loved vicar, the villain chose to protect his own dark secrets by leaving Billy to die.
Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast from Inside Soap magazine. This week’s episode reacts to the biggest twists from the Corriedale crossover.