Coronation Street fans are still reeling from one of the biggest Corriedale twists – the moment Emmerdale’s Graham Foster appeared out of nowhere, very much not where we last left him.
Yes, that Graham. The one we saw zipped into a body bag.
So imagine our shock when he popped up driving a van… with a dark-haired woman tied up in the back.
WHAT?!
The mystery woman managed to escape and flee through the woods, where she was later found by Kit. And now the truth is out – the woman at the centre of the drama is Jodie, Shona Platt’s long-lost sister.
We’ll say it again. WHAT?!
Naturally, we had questions. Lots of them. Thankfully, Coronation Street producer Kate Brooks was on hand to shed some light on the jaw-dropping storyline and the newcomer already shaking up the cobbles.
The Coronation Street mystery woman is Shona’s sister Jodie
“The mysterious lady with the tree tattoo is called Jodie, and she is Shona’s sister,” Kate confirms.
“We’ve mentioned on the show previously that Shona has a younger sister, so we felt the time was right to bring that sister into the mix and explore and unpack a bit of Shona’s backstory. That’s where Jodie comes in.”
And given Jodie’s dramatic entrance, viewers are right to be intrigued.
“She’s a complicated character,” Kate teases. “She comes with a lot of baggage, shall we say.”
An understatement, perhaps, when you consider her first appearance involved being tied up in a dead man’s van. But Kate hints there’s more to Jodie than first meets the eye.
Platt family drama with Jodie at the centre
“Shona and Jodie’s relationship as sisters is quite fraught,” Kate explains. “They’ve got a lot of history between them. But they love each other. They do have that bond, and even though they’ve been estranged for a number of years, that bond is still very strong.”
The timing couldn’t be more intense for the Platts, who are already adjusting to life with baby Harper. Surprisingly, Jodie quickly proves herself useful.
“She comes in as sort of a lifesaver really,” Kate reveals. “She makes herself invaluable to that family unit, but she may have ulterior motives.”
Troublemaker Jodie in Coronation Street
So should the Platts – and viewers – be wary?
“She’s a bit of a troublemaker,” Kate admits. “She’s got a bit of mischief in her eyes. All is not what it seems with Jodie and there’s a lot of layers to her.”
Kate also has a clear warning for Corrie fans.
“Keep an eye on her,” she says. “There are lots of secrets to explode, and she is going to come and bring an awful lot of drama to the Platts.”
And then there’s the question everyone’s asking… Graham.
How exactly does Jodie connect to a man we thought was long gone?
“We’ll find out exactly why she was in that van,” Kate confirms. “We’ll find out what her link to Graham is. We will reveal what went on between them and how Jodie ended up running for her life through a wooded area, and what Graham’s role was in it.”
Kate adds that this link tells us plenty about Jodie herself.
“Graham was a character with a murky past, who was capable of many things,” she says. “Because Jodie is embroiled with somebody of that ilk, it sheds light on what kind of character she is.”
Sibling bond
Beyond the danger and secrets, Jodie’s arrival also changes things for Shona in a big way.
“She’s always embraced the Platts and been part of that family,” Kate explains. “But this is Shona’s own family, this is her flesh and blood. How does she react to that? How does she deal with that? And what lengths would she go to to protect her sister?”
With secrets, danger and sisterly bonds all colliding, it looks like the Platts are in for a turbulent time – and we can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.
Read more: Coronation Street fans predict Debbie is Carl’s real mum in surprising twist
Coronation Street usually airs Monday-Friday at 8.30pm on ITV.
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