ITV
The Webster family may be fractured in Coronation Street, but the actors who play Debbie, Carl and Abi are very much a close-knit thing off-screen as they recently reunited in support of one of their co-stars.
Sue Devaney, Jonathan Howard and Sally Carman, the stars who portray the respective characters in the ITV soap, showed their faces at London’s Novello Theatre on Saturday (28 March) as they attended the stage production of Mamma Mia! in the West End.
The trio were there to support Corrie star Sara Poyzer, who is currently playing Donna Sheridan in the hit musical. In a neat little quirk of fate, Devaney has previously appeared in Mamma Mia!, starring as Rosie in a 2014 run.
Poyzer appeared on the cobbles of Weatherfield last year, portraying dodgy car dealer Fiona Morley. She also has another connection to Corrie, as she is married to Richard Standing, who played Danny Hargreaves between 1999 and 2001.
Fiona was involved in a storyline with Howard’s Carl, which saw him steal cars and forge MOTs before selling them to her. This, in addition to his affair with Carman’s Abi, nuked his relationship with half-brother Kevin.
While the Websters have been at the centre of the drama over the past few months, it’s Devaney’s Debbie who is currently in the thick of it, with the beloved character being incarcerated after taking the blame for the Corriedale crash.
This will all change next week, however, when she is released from prison following a successful appeal, though she is disheartened to find that her son, Carl, and husband, Ronnie Bailey, are at loggerheads.
“Debbie struggles to settle back in Weatherfield – in fact, she goes missing straight after getting out,” explains our Corrie insider. “It’s Carl who tracks down his mum, but he doesn’t stay the hero for long. He’s soon got his begging bowl out.”
Carl explains that he needs money to pay off Poyzer’s Fiona, who is due to return to the soap in the coming weeks. Ronnie is furious with Carl as he thinks he’s up to his old tricks again, but later he surprisingly offers him support.
“This is a real turn up for the books – after all, Ronnie has been nothing but a thorn in Carl’s side for weeks now,” says our source. “But with Debbie’s condition only heading one way, maybe it is time that Ronnie and Carl mended their differences.”
