Coronation Street producer Kate Brooks has confirmed a major new storyline for Glenda Shuttleworth (Jodie Prenger) that will arrive in the new year, bringing a love interest and a significant challenge for the Rovers Return barmaid.
Glenda, the sister of George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley), is known in Weatherfield for her vibrant personality and love of performing. Her romantic history since moving to the cobbles has been unsettled; earlier this year she was left humiliated when Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) slept with Fraser, a man she had taken a shine to, as part of a revenge plot.
Big Storyline Set for March
Teasing what is ahead, show boss Kate Brooks recently told Metro: “We have got a big storyline coming up with Glenda in the new year, which will really unpack Glenda as a character. She’s obviously a fabulous character and very Elsie Tanner. There is a big storyline which will hit the screens around March. There will be a love interest.”
Brooks added: “There is a big test coming up as well. There may be love on the horizon and a happy ever after. I think Glenda is in need of some happiness. It’s a big story and it’s not just completely pertaining to a love story.”
Special Debbie Webster Episode
Before that, on Monday the ITV soap will air an episode dedicated solely to Debbie Webster and her friends. At Debbie’s flat, Abi Webster (Sally Carman-Duttine), Bernie Winter-Alahan (Jane Hazlegrove), Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins), Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor) and Glenda will help Debbie prepare a birthday surprise for her son, Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard).
What begins as a fun bonding experience descends into chaos as past tensions surface among the women. Amid heated confrontations about family history and past trauma, the group struggles to keep the celebration afloat. By the end of the evening, the air is cleared and the women unite to move forward, though several are left to navigate significant, life-altering choices in private.
Focus on Female Friendship
Discussing how the special episode was developed, Kate reflected: “It came about in a story conference. I like telling special episodes. I like trying to make it really character focused and character driven. I know how special this friendship group is on screen. It’s just electric. I thought, let’s dedicate a whole episode to these women and these stories.”
She added: “There’s no stunts. There’s nothing like that. This is just about their relationship with each other, with the outside world, and a little snapshot into what it’s like when you’ve got that female friendship group.”
Brooks concluded: “When I meet up with my friends, I don’t do it as much as I should these days, but it’s so lovely to be in that environment and to feel relaxed and be able to kind of chat and talk about whatever’s going on. I just thought, let’s strip it back. Let’s make it a very kind of conversational piece, and let’s just focus on friendship. The stories are there and they’re all ongoing and they’re all continuing to go into the future. But this is, for me, an episode about friendship and female friendship more than anything, so I thought it would be really nice to see that captured on screen.”
