Coronation Street star Sue Devaney told she’d never act again without extra bone

CONTAINS SPOILERS: Coronation Street’s Sue Devaney has had a glittering TV career and is currently at the centre of one of the soap’s biggest storylines. Looking back ahead of another dramatic episode, she reveals the advice she’s glad she ignored

06:00, 06 Feb 2026Updated 09:03, 06 Feb 2026

Coronation Street star Sue Devaney

As a young actress, Coronation Street star Sue Devaney was advised by a casting director to have limb lengthening surgery to improve her chances of landing roles. Luckily the 5ft actress, whose character Debbie Webster is at the centre of one of Coronation Street’s biggest storylines, ignored him.

At 58, the star, who has also enjoyed long-running roles in Dinnerladies and Casualty, is now very comfortable in her own skin. But she recalls: “When I was in London and I was starting out, I was told by a casting director that I could have an operation to put extra bone in my knees to make me taller, because I’d never work at my height. They said it would give me an extra couple of inches.

“What this industry says to you is crazy. Especially when you’re young, because you think ‘maybe he’s right, maybe I’m not going to work at this height and with this accent.’ I’d turn up to castings talking with a posh RP voice, because I thought they wanted a blank canvas.

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“But at this age, I feel comfortable in my own skin. I’m comfortable with the voice that I’ve got and I feel comfortable playing Northern women. When I was younger, I did anything to change that. Now I think acting is about knowing your limitations and knowing what you can do. I love Shakespeare, but I didn’t train, so give me Northern comedy and I know where I am with that.”

Alone in her prison cell, Debbie’s vision becomes blurred and she collapses. (Image: ITV)

As Chariot Square hotel owner Debbie, Sue’s hilariously blunt character has certainly made an impact. She made her cobbles debut as Kevin Webster’s younger sister when she was just 16, staying for a year, before reprising the role in 2019. Diagnosed with early onset dementia last year, Debbie has had some dramatic storylines. And, viewers have seen her take the blame for the Corriedale car crash that saw beloved vicar Billy Mayhew die, in order to save her secret son Carl, who was actually at the wheel.

In shocking scenes last night (Thurs Feb 5) she suffered a TIA mini-stroke and collapsed in her prison cell after being jailed for two years and eight months for dangerous driving and causing Billy’s death. But that is far from the end of Debbie’s woes. Having grown up believing that Debbie was his sister, crooked Carl (Jonathan Howard) is so angry about being lied to for decades, he’s refusing to speak to her. So, Debbie is shocked in the coming weeks, when a prison guard informs her that he has booked a visit.

Sue says: “Carl comes to see her and decides to turn the situation to his advantage. He pulls on Debbie’s heartstrings and she says she’ll do everything she can to make it up to him. She’s his mother and she just wants his love, however that is. She will still love him whatever he does and when she finds out he’s not moving back to Germany and he’s staying in Weatherfield, in her mind that’s because he loves her and he doesn’t want to leave her.”

Sue Devaney played paramedic Liz Harker in TV hospital drama Casualty(Image: BBC)

Sue in Casualty(Image: BBC)

Inside prison Debbie is assigned former Street resident Lou Michaelis (Farrel Hegarty) as her carer. But despite Lou’s warnings, Debbie falls foul of tough nut prisoner Paula, who she once barred her from her hotel. Sue reveals: “She makes a lovely friendship with Lou, but there’s another inmate who is hard as nails and she gets into a few fights while she’s in there.”

Meanwhile, back on the cobbles, it’s inevitably only a matter of time before her brother Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and her husband Ronnie Bailey (Vinta Morgan) discover the truth about Carl’s real identity. Luckily, off-screen, the Websters’ relationships are far more harmonious. Sue laughs: “The Websters love each other off screen and we always have dinners out.

“I love Johnny, Sally Carman (Abi Webster) is one of my best mates – I adore her – and I’ve known Mike for years and years; we can say anything to each other. Because I’ve done a lot of theatre I love props, so I think ‘what can I do in this scene? I’m going to go into my handbag, I’m going to put my lipstick on, I’m going to do this or that.’ And he’ll say ‘for goodness sake Sue, just stand there with your hands in your pockets, otherwise we’re going to be here until 8pm at night!’”

Sue on holiday in the Lake District with her husband Jim(Image: Supplied)

Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, Sue was a jobbing actress for more than 40 years, before returning to Weatherfield. She is best-known for the three years she spent as Casualty paramedic Liz Harker and her two years as secretary Jane, alongside Victoria Wood, in Dinnerladies.

But down-to-earth Sue has cheerfully turned her hand to all sorts in order to make ends meet. She says: “I’d been offered a panto down in Basingstoke and I didn’t want to go. My friend said to me ‘do you want to be a robin at Tong Garden Centre near Leeds? Nobody will know it’s you – we’ll stick a beak on you – and pay you x amount of money.’ I said ‘absolutely’.

“So, I played a 5ft Christmas robin elf, bringing all the children into the grotto and I’m not talking years and years ago, this was the year before I got Corrie! Somebody said to me ‘aren’t you an actor, didn’t you play Debbie Webster on Coronation Street?’ And I went ‘shut up, I’m a robin today!’ My parents never had a lot, so I could never go to the bank of mum and dad. Then they passed away when I was in my 20s and 30s, so I’ve always fended for myself.

As the wedding gets underway, and Debbie Webster [SUE DEVANEY] performs with the dementia choir, will Carl Webster [JOHNNY HOWARD] and Kevin Webster [MICHAEL LE VELL] be able to keep their promise or is their feud about to ruin Debbie and Ronnie Bailey’s [VINTA MORGAN] dream day?

“So, if I’ve not worked for nine months I’ve downsized. I’ve done that twice. I sold my little cottage and bought an apartment. And then I sold the apartment and bought a little house. And that’s what I’ve done over the years to make do and mend. I’m very good at that.”

Sue, who also teaches drama classes at a Manchester sixth form college, adds: “I’ve realised that 95 per cent of my anxiety comes from not knowing how I’m going to pay my bills and not knowing what my next job is. One of the things that has been brilliant about Corrie is that I’ve not had to think about that for five years. I’m given scripts every two weeks and I’m able to do my craft day in, day out and that’s amazing.”

With Debbie’s diagnosis however, Sue realises that her days on the cobbles are inevitably numbered, but she says she has fewer fears about the unknown than she previously used to, after finding love with former BBC journalist Jim O’Farrell. The couple, who live in Yorkshire, met on a plane coming back from Lanzarote in 2019 and tied the knot two years ago, when Sue was 56.

She says: “Now I’m in a relationship I feel less anxious. My husband is retired and he has a little pension. I don’t have anything like that. But I’ve come this far and I’ve survived. When I was younger, I used to think: ‘I might have kids, I might want to settle down eventually.’ But it never happened. And when I reached the point where I couldn’t have children, I thought ‘right, that’s fine, I can’t go down that road.’ Now I have somebody to share my world with and I’ve reached a certain age, I just want to make the most of every day.”

*For more information: itv.com/coronationstreet and on Twitter: @itvcorrie

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