Warning: Contains spoilers for Tuesday’s episode of Coronation Street, which airs at 8:30pm on ITV1 or can be streamed now on ITVX.
The floor has fallen from beneath Ronnie Bailey’s (Vinta Morgan) feet in Coronation Street.
Things have been pretty bad for the character, with wife Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) being wrongly imprisoned for death by dangerous driving – just weeks after they wed in a beautiful ceremony.
As viewers know, twisted Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) was the real driver, and he dragged her into the driving seat to frame her for the crime.
She knew that she wasn’t responsible, but seemed fine with the fact she could spend a number of years behind bars in his place. It soon transpired that Debbie was harbouring a dark secret, that compelled her to protect her ‘brother’.
Almost 40 years ago, she fell pregnant, and allowed her parents to raise the child – she’s Carl’s mother!
Completely oblivious, Carl prepared to admit everything to the police, but changed his mind when he discovered that Debbie had lied to him for his entire life. He swore to never visit her inside, and formally cut ties.
In the aftermath, Carl has hit the bottle and spends most of his days propping up the bar of the Rovers Return. He’s torn strips off Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott), who was entrusted to look after Debbie’s Chariot Square Hotel, and is now out of work.
In today’s episode, he enlisted a mate, Jez, to enact his plan to torch the hotel.
Jez went to introduce himself to Ronnie, implying that he was an out of work handyman scouting for further jobs. He quickly took photos of the fire exits and CCTV cameras before making a quick escape.
Later, the two men met up at Victoria Gardens to discuss the details of the arson attack, unaware that Ronnie was watching from afar.
As Carl headed off, Ronnie approached Jez, snapping a quick picture of him and warning that Carl is not someone to be trusted. He then followed Carl to the pub, spelling out that he wouldn’t allow any more misdemeanours.
An infuriated Carl said that Debbie would always put him before her husband, as she’s his mother.
It’s safe to say that Ronnie’s jaw then hit the floor. But will Carl continue with his plan to burn down his mother’s business?
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Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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