Coronation Street's serial love rat Carl Webster is on the brink of having his latest infidelity exposed in a spectacularly clumsy blunder. The character, played by Jonathan Howard, is set to make a catastrophic error that could reveal his rekindled affair with James Bailey to his partner, Abi Webster.
A History of Deceit and Buyer's Remorse
Carl's relationship with Abi, portrayed by Sally Carman-Duttine, was born from betrayal. It began as a passionate affair while Abi was still married to Carl's half-brother, Weatherfield legend Kevin Webster. Despite the scandalous exposure of their cheating, the pair chose to build a life together.
However, Carl has quickly developed what viewers see as intense buyer's remorse. He has already resisted moving in with Abi and her young son, Alfie, secretly irritated by the child's presence. Feeling trapped in domesticity, Carl has sought excitement elsewhere, returning to a former flame.
The Secret Rekindled with James Bailey
That excitement is found in the arms of James Bailey, played by Jason Callendar. This is not a new connection; Carl was secretly seeing James even during his initial affair with Abi. When the truth about Carl and Abi exploded publicly at Ronnie's birthday dinner, a hurt James cooled their relationship.
Now, disillusioned with life with Abi, Carl has secretly re-ignited the passionate fling with James on the Cobbles. The pair have already had one narrow escape when Carl's sister, Debbie, caught them together. Carl cruelly gaslit Debbie, suggesting her sighting was a symptom of her worsening dementia.
The Drunken Text and the Lost Phone
In upcoming episodes, the affair faces its most serious threat yet. A hungover James reads back a drunken text message he sent to Carl and is filled with regret. He tells Carl to ignore it, dismissing it as a meaningless mistake.
The situation escalates when Carl reveals he has lost his mobile phone. James is immediately fearful, hoping for Carl's sake that Abi does not find the device. But, as is the law of Soap Land, it is almost inevitable that she will.
In a tense scene, Carl does manage to locate his phone just in time. But his relief is short-lived. Before he can stop her, Abi looks over his shoulder and sees the screen. The question now hanging over the cobbles is whether the man dubbed 'the Worst Webster' can possibly talk his way out of this latest, and perhaps most damning, betrayal.
The fallout from this discovery promises to rock the Webster family once again, leaving Abi to confront the painful reality that the man she left Kevin for may be irredeemably unfaithful.
