Ronnie Bailey (Vinta Morgan) is set to turn down Debbie Webster's (Sue Devaney) advances in upcoming Coronation Street episodes, as her dementia battle takes a toll on their romance.
Debbie has fiercely continued to live her life as usual since receiving her life-changing vascular dementia diagnosis last year. She's working tirelessly at her beloved Chariot Square Hotel, singing in the dementia choir, and hanging out with her girl squad – Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor), Glenda Shuttleworth (Jodie Prenger), Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) and Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins) – better known as Debbie's angels.
Most of all, she's still all over her husband Ronnie. The couple's gorgeous wedding last year ended in tragedy when her son Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) caused a multi-car pileup by driving drunk and gaslit Debbie into going to prison for him.
Debbie's condition declines rapidly
Recently, Debbie's condition has started to decline rapidly, forcing Ronnie to act more like a carer than a lover. But in Debbie's head, she's still the same voracious man-eater she ever was – which is problematic for someone who can't always remember where she was from one minute to the next.
That becomes a problem in their relationship in upcoming episodes, when Debbie's dementia strips another part of the woman Ronnie loves – romance. When Debbie suggests a romantic night in, Ronnie turns her down and explains that Ed (Trevor Michael Georges) is taking him out for a belated birthday meal.
Later, Ronnie admits to Ed that although he still fancies Debbie, he's worried about her dementia and the effect it could have on their sex life. Ed urges Ronnie to discuss it with Debbie.
Heartbreak as Debbie calls Ronnie 'Darren'
Back home, Debbie suggests to Ronnie they head back to bed as she's feeling frisky. However, the mood is soured as she unwittingly calls him Darren. Ronnie lets it go, feigning a headache, but his heartbreak is written all over his face.
When Debbie confides in Abi Webster (Sally Carman-Duttine) and Glenda, Abi is struggling to bite her tongue regarding the secret she knows about Ronnie.
Actor Vinta Morgan recently discussed this storyline in an interview with Metro, where he provided insight into Ronnie's unease to be intimate with Debbie now she can no longer technically give informed consent.
'Now that his head has been opened to the understanding of what dementia is and some of the characteristics of it, he's hyper-aware about stuff,' Vinta explained.
Ronnie's fear of taking advantage
'The things he's really aware of during the week you're talking about are the idea of consent, things being consensual, and the idea of her memory displacement, especially with long-term memory versus short-term memory.'
'She could be in a situation that seems normal, then suddenly she says something or relates to something in a way that's different to what the situation is. For instance, to give you an example: there could be a situation where they're getting intimate, so to speak, and then she happens to call him a different name or think he's a different person, and then finds out it's not that person.'
'Ronnie's just very scared. He seeks and is definitely passionately involved in that, because, that's what their relationship is built on, an enormous passion for each other. But he never wants to put her in any position where she may be taken advantage of, and he doesn't want to feel that way.'
'The last thing he wants is her suddenly freaking out because she thinks he's someone else.'
