Coronation Street actresses were overcome with emotion as they discussed an upcoming special episode of the ITV soap, which airs on Monday, November 9. The instalment, dubbed a 'Debbie's Angels' episode, centres on Debbie Webster, played by Sue Devaney, and her friends Abi Webster, Bernie Winter, Christina Boyd, Sally Metcalfe, and Glenda Shuttleworth.
In the episode, the women gather at Debbie's flat to help her with a birthday surprise for her son, Carl. Debbie empties a plastic crate onto the carpet, revealing hundreds of photographs, and explains she needs their help to make a photo book for Carl's 40th birthday.
Friendship turns to chaos
What starts as a fun bonding experience quickly descends into chaos as past tensions surface among the women. Amid heated confrontations regarding family history and past trauma, the group struggles to keep the celebration afloat. While some find solace in confiding about their own personal burdens, others face difficult decisions about their futures. By the end of the evening, the air is cleared, and the women unite to move forward, though several must navigate significant, life-altering choices in private.
Speaking at a special screening, Corrie producer Kate Brooks told the Manchester Evening News and other press: "It's easy to do when you've got women like this to work with, because, you know, as incredible as they come. It is easy to do, because there's some incredible actors on the show, we've got incredible females, writers on the show, incredible female directors, and I think, you know, what makes Corrie for me so special, and growing up on Corrie, are these really strong, Northern, funny, complicated, messy women who you know and love."
Legacy of Weatherfield women
Brooks added: "When you look back on those, over the women of the last 66 years, every single era has got these real standout characters that are just the driving force and I look at my friends, my friendship groups, and I'd be lost without them, so to not have those same female friendships on screen, I think it would be really remiss of us."
She continued: "I just think what you have there as women on screen, these characters on screen who adore each other. They fall out, it was messy, it was hard to watch at times, but there's a real love there, and there's a real understanding that we're all going through something at any given point, and you need to really rally and look after each other, because if you don't do that, that's when you fall apart."
Brooks noted that each character is going through something, saying: "They've got their own trauma; they've got their own issues going on. But the friendship and the laughter is the thread that keeps them together. And I think that's what Tony Warren did 66 years ago, that's what we continue to do now, to this day."
Sue Devaney, who joined the soap at 16 when Corrie featured the likes of Julie Goodyear as Bet Lynch and Helen Worth as Gail Platt, said being part of the legacy of Weatherfield women feels like coming "full circle": "It's lovely to be part of it. It really is."
Cast reflect on filming
Devaney added: "What's nice in our profession as well, it's like, it's very rare that you get, I mean, I've been lucky because I've done shows like Calendar Girls, which is all women. Mamma Mia, which is women-led. So to come back to Corrie and go, 'Oh, I'm doing episodes, which are all women, with my mates. It's just amazing. And I'm doing it with my best mates as well."
Sally Carman-Duttine, who plays Abi, described the filming experience: "You know when birds fly in a formation and there's always one at the front, and there's always one at the back, sort of supported by the ones at the front? It felt like that. It felt like I was at the back, just watching these powerhouses and smash it, and I got to be a little part of it. I could have been happier. So I was just like, yay! Big old yay!"
Amy Robbins, who plays Christina and is the newest cast member in 'Debbie's Angels', added: "Doing this episode, it was like coming home. You sit around, you say your lines, but in between, we're playing fantasy dinners and then we were playing sing your theme tunes from your childhood, you know, it was just like being home, coming home. It's not like work. Honestly, one of the best things, most things I've ever enjoyed."
Jodie Prenger, who plays Glenda, spoke on the importance of women's stories: "I think it's vital. That's the thing, isn't it, I grew up with these women, and we watched these women to make us feel seen in a way, and I love it when you see women who are floored, who are funny, who are brave, who are silly, who are heartbroken..."
Prenger added: "So I think it's so vital. And, you know, floods and fires and everything and car crashes are great. But I think, for these women, that's their issue going on, and I think it's vital to tell these stories because it's just a beautiful thing, in a very traumatic way. As you can see by all of us wailing at the back!"
Sally, who has played Sally Metcalfe for 40 years, turned to Sue and said: "I just want to say, Sue, honestly, you are amazing. Because, you know, some of those scenes, Sue put in. What is so beautiful about what you do is that you don't play it, you lift it in a way that would be so natural, because you're trying to protect your friends. I thought you just played it absolutely beautifully."
