Here’s all we know about Sue Devaney’s eventual exit from soap as Debbie’s dementia symptoms intensify
Debbie was full of fear tonight
Tonight’s episode of Coronation Street (Friday, June 19), saw Debbie Webster awake from a nightmare that her family wanted her dead.
Carl and Kevin’s gun saga had led Debbie to fear that her family would shoot her to ‘put her out of her misery’ as her dementia worsened.
With her condition becoming more of a struggle, here’s all we know about Debbie’s eventual exit from the soap.
Debbie’s nightmare in Coronation Street
With Carl and Ronnie still looking for the missing gun, Debbie woke up from the horrible nightmare and worried about her future.
She confided in Ronnie who reassured her that nobody wanted her dead, but her paranoia grew to a new level.
Working at the hotel, Debbie mixed up a flower order for an event and demanded that Tracy rectified it despite it being her own mistake.
She then put her foot in it at a gender reveal and told the couple what they were expecting before the actual reveal itself. Hearing a loud sound, she then started shouting about the gun, scared stiff that someone was after her.
Tracy then wondered whether Debbie should be working anymore as this was clearly more than a bad day.
Back at home, Ronnie then comforted Debbie as she looked at photos of her family while worrying that the day she’d forget everyone’s names was fast approaching.
All we know about Sue Devaney’s exit as Debbie Webster so far
While Debbie’s dementia symptoms are worsening on screen, there’s still a long way to go with her storyline before Sue Devaney eventually leaves the soap.
Her storyline is set to continue well into 2027. So, while fans are guaranteed to be upset over the inevitable loss of Debbie, there’s slight relief in the fact that she’ll still be around for the time being.
Speaking to RadioTimes last year, actress Sue Devaney confirmed: “We wanted to do the diagnosis and get that sorted and then do the journey of living with dementia…
“She’s not going anywhere yet! I know the story is going to go on well into 2027, so Debbie’s not going anywhere.”
It’s safe to say though that when the time does come for Debbie to go, we’ll all be in tears.
Shakespeare & Hathaway series 5 episode 5 cast includes groundbreaking soap star for football-themed episode
The Endeavour of this Present Breath catches up with disguise-loving investigative trio Luella Shakespeare, Frank Hathaway and Sebastian Brudenell as they're tasked with unmasking a saboteur at Avon FC. Hired by the team's manager Sam Albany, the boys suit up as assistant coaches on the touchline while Lu poses as a photojournalist.
With a win in the last match of the season set to secure promotion, the stakes have never been higher for the footy club. Yet Kyle Kabir, the captain, and his girlfriend Leah Grace (who sponsors the team) are upset about something.
Elsewhere, Avon FC owner Dan Kressick seems out of his depth as rival manager Howard Harvey keeps showing up to stir the pot. When Sam's strangulated body is discovered, though, the group must come together to find his killer.
So where have you seen this Shakespeare & Hathaway series 5 episode 5 cast before?
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Series 5 of Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators will feature Steven Hartley (Credit: BBC Studios/U&Alibi)[/caption]
Who plays Sam in Shakespeare & Hathaway series 5 episode 5 cast?
The Endeavour of this Present Breath features Steven Hartley in the part of dead-man-to-be Sam Albany.
A regular fixture on EastEnders during the late 1980s, the actor played Matthew Jackson across 65 episodes in total. Having turned violent, Matthew was kicked out of the house by wife Carmel and never returned to Walford.
Debatably his biggest job was that of Superintendent Tom Chandler in The Bill though, whom the Shipley-born star portrayed between 1994 and 2002. He then switched his broadcasting allegiance back to the Beeb by joining Doctors as Jack Ford for a year-long spell.
Fleeting stop-offs in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Marple, Merlin, The Borgias, Happy Valley, Shadow and Bone, Death in Paradise, and Brassic have helped Steven to branch out into less soapy territory.
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Amy Leigh-Hickman has joined the cast as Leah Grace (Credit: BBC Studios/U&Alibi)[/caption]
Tracy Beaker star adds some glamour
East Sussex's Amy-Leigh Hickman is the glamorous partner of team captain Kyle for this episode. In the industry from a young age, she portrayed the recurring character Carmen Howle in two spin-offs from kids classic The Story of Tracy Beaker.
From there, Amy-Leigh graduated to eye-catching parts in EastEnders (as Linzi Bragg) and Ackley Bridge (Nasreen Paracha). Her latter character was notable for being a lesbian in the Muslim community.
Netflix introduced her to global audiences via Harlan Coben's Safe and psychological thriller You, while military drama Our Girl and Tin Star offered the 28-year-old the chance to brush shoulders with Michelle Keegan and Tim Roth on screen.
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Coronation Street alumnus Nathan Graham appears as a football player in this episode (Credit: BBC Studios/U&Alibi)[/caption]
Who does Corrie's Nathan Graham play?
Football skills are really transferrable when it comes to acting, just ask Nathan Graham. After wearing the boots of Coronation Street's James Bailey for over 150 episodes, the 34-year-old has moved on to become Avon FC's main man Kyle Kabir.
Since leaving the hallowed cobbles of Weatherfield three years ago, Nathan has appeared in a short film and two TV dramas. Those were autistic detective story Patience (co-starring Frank himself Mark Benton) and ITV's four-parter Platform 7.
Based on Louise Doherty's novel, Platform 7 focused on a ghost who can't find her way out of the train station she died at.
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James Sheldon pictured in one of his previous TV roles (Credit: BBC Studios/Gary Moyes)[/caption]
Who plays Dan Kressick?
As the football team's seemingly drowning owner Dan Kressick, we have James Sheldon.
Making his TV debut in Doctors a decade ago - catch him as Ed Turnham in two episodes - James' next job came via Casualty five years later, reprising his policeman character Adam Striker most recently in a 2023 instalment.
Sherwood viewers will be familiar with him from the crime drama's fifth episode of series two, where he appeared as Officer McLeash.
In BBC One's long-running period detective show Father Brown, which follows a crime-solving Roman Catholic priest, James played Charles Radler this year.
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Ben Jones is a five-time nominee at the British Soap Awards (Credit: BBC Studios/U&Alibi)[/caption]
Doctors cast member steps into the murder-mystery world
And finally, groundbreaking soap star Ben Jones completes the Shakespeare & Hathaway series 5 episode 5 guest cast.
Prior to his latest TV role as troublemaker Howard Harvey, he's worked steadily in stage productions of The Three Musketeers, Jekyll & Hyde, The Tempest and A Christmas Carol, yet it's the 53-year-old's days on Doctors that stand out historically.
Over a four-year period (2003-07) Ben filled the shoes of Greg Robinson. His character's marriage to Rico Da Silva (played by Felix D'Alviella) was the first same-sex wedding to ever air on UK screens.
Fast-forward to last year and soap fans could also spot him in EastEnders as divorce lawyer Roger Peel for a couple of episodes.
The full cast list for Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators series 5, episode 5, 'The Endeavour of this Present Breath'
Jo Joyner is Luella Shakespeare
Mark Benton is Frank Hathaway
Patrick Walshe McBride is Sebastian Brudenell
Steven Hartley plays Sam Albany
Amy-Leigh Hickman plays Leah Grace
Nathan Graham plays Kyle Kabir
James Sheldon appears as Dan Kressick
Ben Jones appears as Howard Harvey
Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators series 5 is now airing on U&Alibi.
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