OPINION
SUD'S LAW
Coronation Street is making a huge mistake killing off Debbie Webster – but there’s still time to change their mind
The cobbles icon is set to leave in a long-running and devastating storyline - unless bosses change their minds
IT’S no secret that Coronation Street hasn’t been at the top of its game for a while.
But with new boss Kate Brooks taking over the reins, things are looking up and she’s got a host of plans for Christmas and beyond that we can tell you more about later this month.
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However one storyline has leaked that says Debbie Webster is going to be killed off in a hard-hitting and long-running plot that will see her develop dementia.
And I don’t think I can express strongly enough just how much of a mistake this would be.
Reports suggest that this isn’t actress Sue Devaney’s choice - which, had that been the case, have made it slightly more bearable.
But to axe one of the soap’s strongest actors, who consistently gives some of the most pitch-perfect performances despite being criminally underused - is such a mistake.
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Debbie is as close to the living embodiment of classic Corrie as you can get - and Sue belongs on the cobbles.
The woman’s got impeccable comic timing and has provided some of the only truly comedy highlights of the last few years.
Shockingly, not everyone finds Gemma Winter stuffing her face full of food and talking, or Kirk making some stupid comment and wandering off to be the height of comedic sophistication.
But a withering one liner from Debbie is what Corrie has always done best.
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And she’s not just comedy - she can play the dramatic just as well - and be a worthy villain when she needs to be.
Debbie’s return has been a triumph - just like Sally Ann Matthews as Jenny Connor - who also, by the way, is being criminally under-used.
Coronation Street's Debbie Webster exposed as Ray Crosby's business partner
So to give her a major storyline and make it so final crosses a line that soaps should not cross.
EastEnders has frankly never recovered from the painfully stupid decision to kill off Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell.
It was such an obviously desperate grab for ratings that viewers saw through it - and they still haven’t forgiven the show.
Corrie needs to learn from its BBC rival and not make the same mistake.
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It’s only just finished a heavy-hitting tragedy with Paul Foreman’s death to motor neurone disease.
With all due respect to Peter Ash’s performance - Paul’s death was tragic, but ultimately he was a side note character in a C-list family thrust briefly to the forefront.
Debbie is living Corrie history - who has spanned decades on the show and is a senior member of one of Weatherfield’s most prominent families.
And while that means such a tragic story will hit that little bit harder and there’s no doubt that Sue will knock it out of the park - it’s such a waste.
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The story is not set to kick off until well into next year so there is plenty of time to reverse course and that is what they need to do.
Because killing Debbie Webster is the kind of mistake soaps wish they’d never made and struggle to come back from.
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