A worrying familial discovery has rocked Gemma Winter-Brown (Dolly-Rose Campbell) and mum Bernie Winter-Alahan (Jane Hazlegrove) in Coronation Street.
It comes following the death of Bernie’s aunt Celeste Butterfield (Frances Barber), who arrived on the cobbles a few weeks ago to plan her own funeral.
Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) has formed a friendship with her, and on a number of occasions he’s urged Bernie to reconnect with her estranged relative before she passes away.
In today’s episode, Gemma clashed with Todd over his recent treatment of business partner George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley), though he fired back by accusing her of neglecting Celeste during her hour of need.
With this in mind, Gemma visited her great aunty at the Chariot Square Hotel, and was stunned by her disapproval of her large family. She then detailed a health issue that she thought the Winters should be aware of.
Frances Barber as Celeste Butterfield. ITV
The truly awkward encounter was too much to bear, and as Gemma made to leave, Celeste’s health took a turn for the worse.
Todd then arrived, and she lashed out towards him. Her true colours shone through as she made spiteful comments about his relationship with abusive late husband Theo Silverton (James Cartwright), saying that he was too hung up on what had happened and that he needed to move on.
A furious Todd stormed out, and later, Gemma spotted paramedics leaving Celeste’s room. She’d passed away.
When breaking the news to Bernie, Gemma said that Celeste had suffered from breast cancer, and that half of their family had also died following a diagnosis. It’s likely that they have the BRCA gene.
Carrying a familial BRCA (Breast Cancer) gene mutation means inheriting a harmful change in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes from a parent, which significantly raises your lifetime risk of developing certain cancers.
Jane Hazlegrove as Bernie Winter-Alahan and Dolly-Rose Campbell as Gemma Winter-Brown. ITV
Little do they realise, a member of their clan is already battling the disease.
Earlier this week, Corrie confirmed that Bernie’s son Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) would be diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
The Coronation Street production team have been working closely with cancer charities Macmillan Cancer Support and Breast Cancer Now to accurately portray Kit’s diagnosis, while also raising awareness of the real risks of the illness among men.
Jacob Roberts as Kit Green. ITV
On learning of the storyline, actor Jacob Roberts said: “I genuinely didn’t know that men could get breast cancer and I felt, to make it authentic, that Kit shouldn’t know that men can get breast cancer either.
“Speaking to the charities and male survivors has been really insightful, lots of men don’t know they can get this and, for Kit, it’s that utter disbelief of how can this be? Not only for his age, but how can I have this as a bloke and who else in the family could be affected.”
Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 or can be streamed from 7am on ITVX.
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