If the Driscoll storyline is the kind of explosive drama that unfolds during a Christmas dinner, the Webster storyline is a cold, sudden blow that leaves a lasting aftershock.

Carl Webster is trying to live like a grown man, but everything collapses the moment he receives the news that his mother, Elaine, has passed away.

It’s not a prepared shock, but a sudden blow: a phone call, a few short words, and Carl’s world goes silent.

People are still laughing and joking at the stagdo, glasses are still clinking, music is still playing, but Carl stands still like a statue, his face pale, as if he can’t believe this is his life.

The most painful thing is that Carl not only lost his mother, but is also thrown into a feeling of guilt and anger he doesn’t know how to channel, because Elaine knew she had been seriously ill for a long time without telling him. That feeling was incredibly cruel: a mixture of grief for her mother, anger, self-reproach, and a sense of being abandoned within her own family. But Corrie never let tragedy stand alone. Elaine’s death seemed to unravel a secret network that everyone was trying to hide from Carl.

And now Debbie not only avoids emotions, she avoids appearing. While everyone thought Debbie was busy preparing for a festival or a wedding, she disappeared from an important appointment, leaving the group bewildered. Where did Debbie go? Why did she hide? And was Debbie running away from fear or from a truth about to be revealed? The situation becomes even more complicated when details about “money” and “control” emerge around Debbie, giving viewers a sense of danger: accounts, paperwork, who has the authority to decide if Debbie has problems.