Sarah Platt was beside herself as Bethany’s health took a worrying turn during this Friday’s trip to Coronation Street.

After a dodgy liposuction, the beloved character portrayed by Lucy Fallon was left in a coma as she contracted sepsis from her procedure. In a devastating twist, she was then given a stoma bag for the rest of her life as the damage done, notably to her stomach, was irreparable.

During this Friday’s (September 27, 2024) instalment of the ITV soap, Bethany reflected on her most recent choices with her mother Sarah (Tina O’Brien), before finding out that her ill-fated trip to Turkey would cost a whopping £25k – and the bills continued to pile up.

While she appeared to be stable, Sarah was horrified to find her struggling to breathe in later scenes and a doctor rushed in to help immediately as Bethany’s complexion turned paler by the second.

Sarah was distraught after finding her daughter Bethany in her hospital bed, struggling to breathe

Later on, Sarah learned that Bethany may have contracted pneumonia in hospital after her procedure, when her immune system was at its most compromised.

Bethany has not only been suffering from sepsis in the harrowing storyline but, as mentioned, her stomach was damaged and her liposuction even led her to have a perforated bowel, making the possibility of her encountering another life-threatening hurdle highly likely.

This comes after actress Lucy was tipped to be leaving Coronation Street after announcing she was pregnant with her second child. Taking to Instagram in August, Lucy addressed rumours of her exit from the show as she assured she wouldn’t be gone for long – but could her announcement have been a red herring?

The actress shared a behind-the-scenes snap, in character, donning a crop top and a black midi skirt as she captioned: “Lots of Corrie related Q’s. I won’t be away for toooo long and I am returning after I pop the baby out xx.” But while Lucy Fallon will stay close to Weatherfield, another actor is due to leave Coronation Street after his on-screen alter-ego meets his comeuppance.

Former Hollyoaks star Calum Lill joined Corrie last year as duty solicitor Joel Deering and was introduced as a new love interest for Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) and while he made a good impression on the fan favourite, viewers were immediately suspicious of him.

In recent months, it was then revealed that soap fans were right to doubt him as he was the cause of Lauren Bolton’s disappearance, tormenting the cash-strapped teen and fathering her newborn son. It has now been confirmed that the storyline will culminate in Joel’s exit from Weatherfield as the actor has quit the long-running show.

“Calum has made a huge impact as Joel over the last year but he always knew it would be for a fixed term”, a source told The Sun. Calum’s last scenes in the Manchester-based programme are due to air in the coming months as the insider continued: “He’s been great playing Joel but all good soap villains must get their comeuppance and Joel’s is coming very soon.”