CORONATION Street’s Julie Carp’s devastating secret has been revealed – and it’s utterly heartbreaking.
The beloved icon – who is played by actress Katy Cavanagh in the ITV soap – made a shock return to the cobbles after 10 years last week.
Fans were confused when Julie seemed desperate to leave Weatherfield before coming face to face with her sister Eileen Grimshaw.
But in today’s episode it was revealed that she has good reason – and it’s heartbreaking.
Having run into nephew Todd at the hotel and accidentally left her luggage behind for Todd to take home, Julie snuck into Eileen’s house to retrieve it.
Catching her and wondering why she was being so cagey, Todd opened her bag and pulled out a bag of pills.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea,” said George as he picked up Julie’s medical pack.
Todd, took and looked before saying: “Cancer?”
As Eileeen began to come in Julie begged them to keep quiet about what they’d discovered.
Instead she plastered on a smile and went to lunch with her sister, trying to cover up that she’d been in Weatherfield for a few days already.
After a few run-ins, Julie got through it and made her excuses to leave – insisting she had to leave for work.
Todd took her back to her hotel and they sat down to talk and she told him the truth of what happened.
Coronation Street legend makes shock return after a decade away – and she’s hiding a huge secret
“Sarcoma,” she told him.
“That’s what the cancer’s called. It started in the soft tissue around my stomach.”
And sadly she told Todd it was terminal.
“It’s stage four, it’s spread to my liver and lungs,” she said. “The chemo can slow it down but it can’t cure it.”
A tearful Todd said: “Oh Julie. Have they said how long you’ve got?”
“If I’m lucky I’ll see this summer,” she said.
“Now you know why I didn’t want to stay. Last thing you need is me killing the vibes.
“There’s no point crying about it. I’ve just got to make the most of the time I’ve got left.
“I’m seeing some specialists in alternative palliative care, that’s why I’m here. It might buy me a few months but that’s it.”
Todd begged her to tell his mum but Julie insisted on keeping it a secret
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She told him: “I’ve been perfectly fine by myself up until now. I don’t mean to burden her.
“I want her to remember me how I was, not how I’ll become. Can you give me that?”
