Coronation Street spoilers follow for Thursday’s (January 15) episode which is now available to stream on ITVX.
It’s official. There had to be a reason why Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) would go to prison just to save her waste-of-skin half-brother Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard). Corrie just proved it by dropping the mother of all secrets…
To say Carl is a wrong’un would be a grievous insult to the wrong’un community. I could spend all day making the case why he’s the sleaziest sleazebag that’s ever slimed his way onto the Cobbles, but I’ve got deadlines to meet.
So, let’s summarise. Greatest hits include – running off with his brother Kevin Webster’s (Michael Le Vell) wife Abi Webster (Sally Carman-Duttine), cheating on Abi with James Bailey (Jason Callender), taking advantage of Debbie’s dementia to raid her bank accounts, and causing the hit-and-run that put Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) in a wheelchair.
That’s just for starters.
Most recently, Carl got absolutely wasted at Debbie and Ronnie Bailey’s (Vinta Morgan) wedding and tried to drunk-drive his way to Germany in search of a new life.
Only Debbie hopped in the passenger seat at the last minute, in a desperate attempt to stop her brother out of doing anything stupid. No suck luck.
The siblings were caught up in the fiery inferno multi-car pileup of Corriedale, which claimed the life of Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank). In classic Carl form, the Worst Webster lifted an unconscious Debbie into the driving seat and did the ol’ switcheroo. Now Debbie’s looking at charges for dangerous driving and manslaughter.
The worst part?’ ‘She’s happily taking the fall for Carl. Even when Debbie was basically hit over the head with evidence that Carl’s been pilfering from her hotel’s bank accounts, she refused to turn against him. Kevin is understandably not Carl’s biggest fan since he did the dirty with his missus.
But to Kev’s frustration and heartbreak, Debbie firmly laid down the law. ‘You can try and turn me against him all you like, but don’t force me to choose between you and him because you won’t like the outcome.’
If that kind of undeserved loyalty just made you eat your own hair in sheer exasperation, I have some bad news. It’s about to get worse.
Because in today’s episode of Coronation Street, Debbie goes to court and pleads guilty on all charges, throwing herself under the bus for her no-good brother. No word of a lie. She even makes poor Ronnie promise to look after the little toe-rag whilst she’s staying at His Majesty’s Pleasure.
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Now, you may be wondering why a strong, confident woman like Debbie who is, let’s face it, Corrie’s answer to Deborah Meaden, wouldn’t just tell her brother to get on his bike. That’s the million dollar question. And here’s the answer.
Carl is not Debbie’s brother at all. He’s her son.
The truth is revealed in Today’s visit to the Cobbles, during a private moment at home. Searching through a box of keepsakes, Debbie pulls out a baby’s hospital band from a hidden compartment.
The writing on the band reads: “Carl, 15-12-1986. Mother: Deborah Webster.”
There we go. The only person in the world who cares about Carl Webster is legally and biologically compelled to. Figures. It’s a jaw-dropping twist – which the fans totally called.
For weeks, Corrie viewers have flocked to the socials to swap theories to explain Debbie’s desire to protect Carl against all odds. One fan commented “Debbie seemingly absolutely determined to protect Carl and lie for him to the detriment of herself – he’s surely going to turn out to be her son.’ Another wrote: ‘That random “Debbie is Carl’s mum” theory is getting more likely every day because otherwise wtf Corrie.’
WTF indeed.
This revelation explains a lot. Although Debbie has spotted clues that Carl is framing her for the crash– including her seatbelt bruising indicating that she was on the passenger side – she has nonetheless been his sole defender. During a recent interview, actress Sue Devaney shared some insight into her character’s love for Carl which suddenly makes a lot more sense.
‘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 [with her dementia] that she doesn’t see things. Love is blind, isn’t it? Yeah, love is blind.’
As far as Carl is concerned, his mother was Elaine Webster and she just recently died. He was the only one who wants Debbie to plead guilty to all charges, all to save his own hide.
Will the truth change his mind?
Coronation Street airs Mondays to Fridays at 8:30pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX and YouTube.
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