Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn) has killed to protect her family – but that family is turning on her. When child predator Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) returns to Coronation Street to threaten Maggie’s grandson, what will the murderous landlady do after she’s got nothing left to lose?
The Aftermath of Murder Week
Murder week saw the demise of domestic abuser Theo Silverton (James Cartwright), but Maggie came very close to meeting the grim reaper on the Cobbles herself. After a tense stand-off with Megan which was interrupted by an emotional and conflicted Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale), Maggie was discovered soon after by two young girls, laying lifeless on the ground. Apparently, it takes more than a nasty fall to take out the acid-tongued Queen of the Rovers’ Return. Maggie survived, after having suffered a heart attack. Which is very bad news for Megan.
Megan’s Manipulation
The child abuser groomed Will into an illicit and illegal relationship right under Maggie’s nose, and when the police didn’t have enough evidence to charge the cunning predator, she took matters into her own hands and tried to scare a confession out of Megan. When it didn’t work, Maggie lost her temper and shoved Megan, which allowed the devious predator to pretend to Will that the fall had cause her to miscarry their baby, when in fact, she’d in fact had a secret termination. This bombshell dropped on poor Will when he walked in on his grandmother’s balcony showdown with Megan, which left the troubled teen more confused than ever.
Family Fractures
This makes it all the more vital that the Driscolls stay united, which is a dubious prospect at best right now. Maggie’s relationship with her son Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker) has been hanging by a thread ever since the revelation that she has been lying to him his entire life, and his father is actually Corrie legend Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson). While she recovered, Ben gave Maggie a reprieve after her heart attack and is just about keeping things civil for Will’s sake. The awkward truce was promptly destroyed by Will’s mother Melanie (Cindy Humphries), who was distraught to discover that her son was groomed by an athletics coach under his ex’s roof. That’s why she wanted to take Will to live with her in Scotland, and has been forcing Maggie to help her convince Ben… unless she wants him to know that his own mother killed his adoptive father Allan by shoving him down the stairs.
A Confession and Banishment
Thanks to increasingly pressure from Melanie, Maggie was finally forced to come clean with her son last Thursday and confess the truth. Ben was devastated, and despite his mother’s pleas that Alan’s death was a terrible accident, he banished her from the family and the pub. There’s only one thing that could make this worse. The release of Megan.
Megan’s Release
Will was originally planning on fleeing Weatherfield with Megan to start a new life in Paris, completely oblivious to the reality that his so-called ‘girlfriend’ had no intention of taking him with her. She’d only bought a ticket for one. A heart-to-heart with Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine), who knows what it’s like to be groomed by somebody he trusted, helped the scales fall from Will’s eyes and he finally reported Megan to the police, resulting in the abuser’s arrest. Not for long. Upcoming scenes of Coronation Street will see the vile paedophile be released when Maggie is at her lowest. Is she coming back for Will… or revenge?
Tensions Boil Over
When Ben takes a call from the police, he’s furious to hear that Megan has been released on bail. The tension only gets worse when Maggie appears for their family lunch, revealing Ollie invited her. Ben is unimpressed. You could cut the tension with a knife at lunch until Ben finally breaks the news to Will that Megan’s out on bail. Maggie’s horrified and assures Will that she’ll protect him. But Ben loses his temper and drops the bombshell on Ollie and Will. Has he just revealed Maggie’s murderous secret? And if so, then what will she do to Megan.
The Most Dangerous Pint-Puller
Historically, Maggie has barely kept her temper in check before, but will do anything to protect her family. Now that her family have cut her off, the most dangerous pint-puller in Weatherfield is more dangerous than ever…
