Until now, the only two Coronation Street residents that know Debbie Webster’s (Sue Devaney) biggest secret – that she’s Carl Webster’s (Jonathan Howard) mum –

are Debbie and Carl themselves. Debbie finally revealed the truth after 39 years as Carl determined to put things right and admit to the police that it was he,

not Debbie, who’d been drunk behind the wheel on the night of the Corriedale crash.

Secrets – and tempers – blow

He’d believed that his previous manipulation of poor Deb had succeeded: he’d swapped seats with her after the almighty collision and attempted to use her dementia to convince her that she’d been driving. Debbie had known the truth all along though, admitting to Carl that she’d gone along with the lie in order to protect him.

Protesting that there were things he didn’t understand, Carl remained undeterred, and tried to head to the police station to tell the truth, when Debbie dropped the ultimate bombshell, revealing that she’s not his sister, but his mum.

Wounded and spewing vitriol, Carl didn’t listen to Debbie’s pleas and coldly dismissed her. Though she begged him to attend her sentencing, he stayed away, and upon receiving a nearly three year sentence, Debbie crumbled in her cell before suffering a mini-stroke.

As Debbie adjusts to her new reality with prison helper Lou Michaelis (Farrel Hegarty), Carl finds himself in a bitter clash with Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott) as he vies for control of Debbie’s hotel (and it’s finances). Squarely on the back foot when Debbie’s husband, Ronnie Bailey (Vinta Morgan), throws his support behind Ryan and begins to plot a fiery revenge.

Next week sees Carl call in a dodgy associate, Jez, to assist him in his plan to set the hotel ablaze. Alone with Jez and unaware of his true intentions, Ronnie warns him away from Carl, telling Jez in no uncertain terms that Carl is an utter scumbag.

Ronnie later confronts Carl and tells him to stop his scheming. With Debbie inside, he’ll be looking after her best interests, and that means staying one step ahead of Carl. When a venomous Carl spits back that Debbie’s his mum, Ronnie is utterly floored.

Alongside Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell), Ronnie visits his wife in prison, still in utter disbelief at what he’s learned. Telling Debbie that Carl tried telling him that she’s his mum, he’s floored all over again when she confirms that it’s true.

Now knowing that Carl hasn’t let his sister take the rap for his crime, but his mother, Kevin and Ronnie’s blood boils, and it becomes a case of ‘when’, not ‘if’ they collide with Carl.

While we can’t reveal the exact details of their inevitable confrontation, Ronnie does wind up being arrested by Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) for assault, and, later, Debbie is utterly overjoyed to learn that Carl’s booked a visit.

Coming face to face with her son, Debbie promises that, upon her release, she’ll do anything and everything to make it up to him. Has the ice surrounding Carl’s heart toward his mum finally melted? Or is he there for a more insidious reason?