Gail Rodwell (Helen Worth) and Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson) have revealed their intentions to leave Coronation Street to her devastated family.
They also surprised the iconic clan with the date of their upcoming wedding – and it was a lot sooner than they anticipated.
Of course this plot is all part and parcel of actress Helen Worth’s leaving storyline after treading the cobbles for a whopping 50 years.
Gail made a return to our screens earlier in the autumn, announcing that she had partnered up with nemesis Eileen Grimshaw’s (Sue Cleaver) ex-boyfriend Jesse.
After putting No. 8 – which has been the family home since 1991 – up for sale, her youngest son David (Jack P Shepherd) was forced to steal money from gangster Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor) that was intended for Bethany Platt’s (Lucy Fallon) recovery following botched cosmetic surgery.
Using the cash from the house, and from Jesse’s divorce, he suggested earlier this week that they buy a villa in France.
That’s a long bus ride back to Weatherfield!
Gail wasn’t exactly convinced by the idea, and suggested they check out some new builds by the Red Rec. However, after a stroll around the town, she returned home and gazed around the street.
She watched as residents young and old walked by, and realised that her time spent in the area could be coming to a close.
After much consideration, Gail and Jesse sat down to announce the news in tonight’s episode.
Not only was did the revelation that their wedding was just two weeks away come as a huge surprise, but the fact they were going to spend the rest of their days on the other side of Europe turned the atmosphere frosty.
David was furious, feeling that his mum had turned her back on him.
Suddenly, his nephew Harry (Carter-J Murphy) emerged from his bedroom clutching a handful of £20 notes – he’d found the secret stash of cash in the wardrobe!
Jesse was well aware of where the money had come from, and leapt to David’s defence, noting that he’d squirrelled it away to buy his wife Shona (Julia Goulding) a flashy Christmas present.
Later, Gail continued the conversation with daughter Sarah (Tina O’Brien) and mum Audrey (Sue Nicholls).
Sarah seemed to be won over by the idea of regular holidays in the sun, and encouraged her mum to do what was best for her… even if this was the seventh time she’d walk down the aisle.
Audrey was less convinced, and said it was likely that she wouldn’t be able to travel at her age and they’d probably never see each other again.
Elsewhere, Jesse approached David with an offer. If he handed him the stolen money, he’d transfer him his divorce settlement money to pay for the house.
In the garden, the transfer was completed.
Will it all go to plan?
