Coronation Street teen Mason Ratcliffe (Luca Toolan) will be stabbed with a zombie knife and left to die in a hard-hitting knife crime storyline that will have ‘huge ramifications.’
Mason is being targeted by his thug brothers and makes plans to leave Weatherfield, but his escape plans come too late.
Ahead of the horrific events, Mason has already incurred the wrath of Abi Webster (Sally Carman) after she catches him in Seb’s memorial garden stealing some heather for Betsy Swan (Sydney Martin).
Elsewhere, Betsy is scathing when Mason says he had nothing to do with Becky’s death and Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor) tries to get through to her about how hard it was for him to call the police on his own family.
Attempting to make amends before he goes, Mason apologises to Liam for the bullying before heading back to the precinct with Dylan, but sinister are on their tracks.
Finding Dylan and Mason, the brothers give chase and catch Mason before viciously attacking him. As Dylan makes his escape he screams at them to stop, but to no avail.
A struggle has shocking consequences (Picture: ITV)
Abi finds Mason bleeding from a stab wound in the children’s play area. She pulls off her scarf and does her best to stem the flow of blood while shouting for help. The ambulance arrives and Dylan explains to Asha how Mason has been stabbed by Matty and Logan.
In the back of the ambulance, Betsy holds Mason’s hand as she and Abi do their best to reassure him that he’s going to be okay.
But whether or not he survives is currently a closely guarded secret. However, show boss Kate Brooks told Metro that the consequences of events would be far-reaching for many in Weatherfield.
‘It’s a really important story to tackle, because the statistics are so alarming,’ she told us.
‘I think knife crime has gone up by 80% in the last 10 years. We work really closely with the Ben Kinsella Foundation to make sure we’re telling the story right, and that the message is to not carry a knife out of fear, because that escalates everything.
‘We know we’re tackling a sensitive storyline, and it’s going to be very hard-hitting. We have Mason at the centre of it and Dylan and Betsy are involved. It has massive ramifications for Abi, and for Tim and Sally going forward.
‘We just felt like it was a subject that we couldn’t ignore. It has big consequences for people going forward, and it isn’t a subject matter that we tackle lightly. It’s an important one to talk about and let young people know that carrying a bladed article is not the way.
‘It’s a real community story and a shocking one – I love the shock storytelling tactics. I think they work and they keep people guessing.
‘We’re telling the story in a very interesting way. It’s not your usual linear storytelling. It’s different and it’s bold, but I think it’s really impactful how we’re telling it.’
It’s not the only topical storyline that Kate plans to tackle over coming months either, with Kevin (Michael le Vell) being diagnosed with testicular cancer, which will lead to more heartache for Abi on top of her involvement in this.
‘It causes a massive strain on his relationship,’ she shared. ‘Abi is a really strong character, but she’s going through her own turmoil at the same time.
‘We’ve been working closely with Macmillan Cancer Support to make sure that we tell the story right. Ultimately, it’s about their relationship and testing that relationship.
‘It was really important that we don’t show Kevin being embarrassed or being reticent to talk to his friends about it. He’s quite open about it, which I thought was quite refreshing.
‘He talks to Tim and Steve about it, and they all have their own way of handling it, but ultimately it’s about his relationship with Abi, and that is going to be truly tested.
‘As I alluded to, Abi is going through her own situation as she struggles with the aftermath of the stabbing. She loves Kevin and he loves her, but temptation comes Abi’s way…’
