Terror for Ryan as he’s violently attacked in Coronation Street – but unlikely hero may save him
There’s danger on Coronation Street when Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott) becomes the target of ruthless armed robbers until someone swoops to the rescue… and it’s the very last person you might expect.
No, not Batman. I’m talking about Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard). If he was a superhero, he would have the power to sink new depths of soap villainy and somehow still be on the show.
The Worst Webster hasn’t been too popular on the Cobbles of late, and for good reason. Let’s breeze through his rap sheet – doing the dirty with his brother Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) wife Abi Webster (Sally Carman-Duttine), subsequently cheating on her with James Bailey (Jason Callender), swindling Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) by taking advantage of her dementia, and causing the hit-and-run that put Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) in a wheelchair. That’s old news. So 2025.
The most recent atrocity committed by Creepy Carl is the Corriedale crash, which he started while attempting to drunk-drive his way to Germany with a screaming Debbie in the passenger seat.
Cue the inevitable multi-car pileup that claimed the life of beloved fan favourite Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank). In that moment, Carl stooped to a brand new low when he moved the unconscious Debbie into the drivers seat and manipulated her into thinking that she’d been behind the wheel the whole time.
Now Debbie’s facing charges for manslaughter and dangerous driving. How could Carl do something so unspeakably evil to his own sister? Well, technically Debbie is actually Carl’s secret mother – which, it turns out, is the only reason she’s taking the fall for the little toerag.
But brace yourselves, Corrie fans. Because the Worst Webster is about to be involved in his most shocking storyline yet – doing something decent.
Poor Ryan Connor’s not had an easy time on the Street. Swapped at birth, substance abuse issues and feuds with local villains. Nothing too controversial – the soap set menu. Then in 2023, Ryan’s world was turned upside down when he became the unintentional victim of a severe acid attack, which was meant for Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) at the hands of her obsessive stalker.
In the devastating aftermath of the attack, Ryan’s desperate attempts to regain confidence and a control over his life led to steroid abuse and sex-work, posting explicit content to strangers.
With the support of his family and friends, Ryan managed to put his life back together. Now he finds himself facing down armed robbers like a Weatherfield version of Grand Theft Auto. Life’s not fair.
At the Chariot Square Hotel, two masked robbers approach Ryan in reception. When one of them pulls out a claw hammer and orders him to open the safe, Ryan freezes with fear. Having stuffed the contents of the safe into a bag, the robbers attack Ryan.
Just as things are looking at their darkest, Carl rushes onto the scene to help.
It’s nice to see Carl do some good in the world. Nice… and suspicious.
We all know the Worst Webster is in dire need of cash. When his scorned ex Abi realised he’d been seeing James Bailey in secret, she nicked the bag of cash in his car before he could scarper off to Germany.
When a raging Carl cornered Abi about the cash, she gloatingly revealed that she’d used it to pay off her debts and given the rest to charity.
But while Abi smugly believed the eighteen grand was the ill-gotten gains Carl made from stealing cars, her face soon fell to discover the money was Debbie’s.
Does Carl come to Ryan’s aid to stop the robbery… or to finish the job?