Coronation Street fans will see show favourite Bethany Platt get pulled into a heartbreaking ill health storyline as show star Lucy Fallon prepares to exit the soap

Coronation Street’s Bethany Platt will find herself battling for survival when she contracts sepsis in an intense new storyline.

Fans of the long-running ITV soap will need to brace themselves for plenty of drama as the health scare storyline is set to become a major focus for life on the cobbles. The plot will unfold ahead of 28-year-old Lucy Fallon leaving the show once again as she prepares to give birth in real life.

Lucy has portrayed the character of Bethany since 2015 and her upcoming plot is said to bring heartbreaking turmoil to the Platt family – which also includes soap legend Helen Worth, 73, who plays family matriarch Gail Platt. In the upcoming storyline, Bethany will get caught up in a shady cosmetic surgery operation, leading her to undergo a procedure.

However, in a devastating twist, she will contract a life-threatening infection, landing her in the hospital as her family hopes for her recovery. A source revealed: “It’s a really meaty storyline for Lucy to get her teeth into.”

The source continued to The Sun: “Dodgy cosmetic surgery is a big issue and it can have catastrophic side effects and the hope is that this storyline will make people more aware of that. But for Lucy it gives her something really dramatic to play and that’s when she’s at her best.”

They added: “It’s really going to hit viewers when the Platts realise just how ill Bethany is.” The news comes as Lucy prepares to leave the soap for maternity leave, having announced she is expecting her second child, a baby girl, with her footballer boyfriend Ryan Ledson, 27.

On August 19, Lucy revealed her pregnancy, sharing a first glimpse of her baby bump along with the happy news. She also mentioned that she was “halfway there” already, indicating that she had kept the secret for months.

The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Sonny Jude, in January 2023. Ryan is a professional footballer from the UK, currently playing as a midfielder for Preston North End.

Lucy initially left Weatherfield in 2020 after five years but made her return last year. She revealed last month that she won’t be absent from the soap for long, replying to fan questions to write online: “Lots of Corrie related q’s – I won’t be away for tooo long and I am returning after I pop the baby out.”

Helen Worth announced her own shock exit from the show earlier this year – revealing she is bowing out after an astonishing 50 years of service. She said in June: “This year felt like the perfect time to leave the show after celebrating 50 years in the most wonderful job on the most wonderful street in the world. I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding.”

And she added: “I have been truly blessed to have been given the most incredible scripts week in week out, and to have worked with fantastic actors, directors and a brilliant crew.”