Julie Carp – a character who seemed like a supporting character in previous years – returned to Coronation Street with a terrible secret: she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, and chose to leave… quietly.

When Julie returned in early 2025, viewers thought she appeared to support Eileen on her journey to leave the street.

But in the first scenes, this character hid a persistent cough, times of fatigue and a cloudy look in the mirror.

According to leaks from the crew, Julie had to stop filming many times because of pain.

The climax came when Julie, in a secret meeting with Todd Grimshaw and George Shuttleworth, confided: “I don’t have much time left. The cancer has spread to my liver and lungs. I don’t want Eileen to know in a painful way.”
In that scene, she burst into tears, holding George’s hand and saying that her years in Weatherfield were the best memories.

A few episodes later, Julie wrote a farewell note in her diary, apologizing to Eileen, promising not to let the grief drag on. That night, she passed away peacefully on the empty street – no drums or trumpets, just the sound of the wind whistling through the street. The final scene captured Julie’s silhouette walking through the streetlights, thin and silent, like a passerby leaving forever. This was the scene that made many viewers cry.

Julie’s passing due to a terminal illness – instead of being eliminated due to internal tragedy – created a “meaningful death”. The feeling of grief mixed with regret when knowing that she tried to hide her illness so as not to put pressure on her relatives. In some interviews, the film crew said they considered keeping it a secret until the minute of broadcast to create shock – and the audience “collapsed” with that ending.