Kevin's sister Debbie (Sue Devaney)

[lizann]

killed off, dementia

it's a shame, a great character

[parkerman]

killed off, dementia

it's a shame, a great character

A bit sudden!

[lizann]

A bit sudden!

2025 storyline

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/cor...fan-favourite/

[Perdita]

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/cor...my-story-ends/


Coronation Street is set to kick off Debbie Webster?s devastating exit storyline, despite a fan petition to keep the character on the soap.

The ITV soap confirmed in January that the character will be diagnosed with dementia, which will lead to her eventual exit from the show.

However, fans recently launched a petition calling for Coronation Street to ?reconsider this idea? before it began, calling Debbie ?a symbol of what makes Corrie unique: relatable characters with depth, humour, and a sense of family?.

At the time of writing, the petition has over 1,800 signatures, though ITV will be pressing ahead with the storyline that commences in episodes airing next Tuesday (March 18) and Wednesday (March 19).

In the scenes, Debbie calls at Street Cars and asks where her cab is, though is left furious when Eileen admits she cannot find Debbie?s booking.

Eileen also leaves Brian horrified when she shares that she has a lot on her mind as her sister has cancer.

Debbie later enlists Mick to help after she takes a call from the hotel revealing that there is a problem with the electrics.

However, Mick tells her it was a planned outage, with an email previously sent to her from the energy company informing her of the test. Debbie insists she never received it and refuses to pay him.

Are these the first symptoms of memory problems for Debbie?

[ccahill2]

I positively hate this. Debbie is delightful and I don't watch shows for their gloom and doom aspects. It's been bad enough with this gangster story, an episode about suicide, babies dying.

[Perdita]

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/cor...cision-debbie/


Coronation Street star Sue Devaney has explained the decision she made regarding Debbie Webster's dementia storyline.

Debbie has started to show signs of the memory loss disease, with the story set to culminate in her exit, despite fan outcry.

In order to more accurately portray real life, and to make things more exciting for her as an actor, Devaney has asked soap bosses not to let her known plot details in advance.

"I have decided that I don't want to know what is coming up for Debbie," she said. "I want to wait for the scripts because in real life you don't know what is coming. I think it's more interesting to play it like that."

She also explained what research she did for the storyline, stating that: "I've spoken to my friend who works with dementia patients. She's got a clinic where she sees patients with early onset dementia so I speak to her a lot.

"We have been working with Dementia UK, when we had our initial meeting they told me a lot about the tests you have to do and how you are diagnosed with it and where you go from there."

The actor added that Debbie feels incredibly scared when the specialist refers her to the memory clinic, after initially thinking she was just going through the menopause.

"It makes her think it's something more serious," she said. "Menopause is a scary time for any woman, with hormones all over the place and doing bizarre things. It changes your brain.

"I spoke to a support worker from Dementia UK, and she said many women think it's just menopause and don't get tested, even though the symptoms can be similar, like brain fog, but on a much bigger scale with dementia."

According to a press release, this storyline will unfold "over the coming months and years", so Debbie may not be going anywhere anytime soon. hmmmm this is soapland where things happen quickly..

[ccahill2]

Dementia is a long, lingering, horrible disease. I absolutely don't want to watch if this is an assisted suicide story, although they way that this show has come with its depressing stories, I could see that. I'd rather she go out with an act of heroism rather than a suicide story.

[Perdita]

Dementia is a long, lingering, horrible disease. I absolutely don't want to watch if this is an assisted suicide story, although they way that this show has come with its depressing stories, I could see that. I'd rather she go out with an act of heroism rather than a suicide story.

In soapland those illnesses do not take long, Hayley Cropper, Roy's wife, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she ended her life after 9 months.. I suspect Debbie's life might come to an end in the Christmas storyline.. can't have too much happiness at Christmas in soapland ...

[tammyy2j]

It is a sad watch especially for a likeable character

[ccahill2]

Yes, it's heartbreaking to watch. Especially for those of us who have seen dementia strike our loved ones. It's not only heartbreaking to see the character's fear and decline, but it also brings back memories that we've worked to compartmentalize.