Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) has been keeping a huge secret from (most of) her family recently in Coronation Street, after she was diagnosed with dementia.

Proud, independent Debbie felt like she didn’t want to burden her brother Kevin (Michael Le Vell) with the news, as he’s already going through a tough time with cancer treatment.

As for her relationship with Ronnie Bailey (Vinta Morgan), Debbie opted to dump him rather than tell him the truth.

Debbie’s split with Ronnie hasn’t been easy for either of them, as they both love each other and had previously decided to get married. Ronnie has been left hurt and confused, while Debbie thinks he’s already moved on as she’s spotted him a few times in the company of Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson).

So far the only person who knows about Debbie’s diagnosis is her other brother, Carl (Jonathan Howard) – and he only found out by accident and has been sworn to secrecy by Debbie.

But all that is about to change in an episode airing soon, where Debbie takes a sudden turn for the worse and is forced to open up to her family about what’s really going on.

Debbie and Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove) go to the Chariot Square bar for a few drinks to cheer Debbie up after she admits to Bernie that she’s finding it hard to be in the same room as Ronnie.

Also in the bar is Brody Michaelis (Ryan Mulvey), and when he causes a fuss by failing to produce ID when asked, Debbie loses it with him. We’ve seen Debbie becoming irrationally angry before and it’s a symptom of her condition, and this time she really loses control and smashes Brody’s glass on the bar.

The next day Bernie is worried about Debbie because of her behaviour at the bar but also because she forgets to pay at the cafe.

She’s under pressure because there’s been a flood at the hotel and she’s facing having to cancel an awards ceremony, but Leanne offers to host the event at Speed Daal.

Debbie’s grateful for that, but once again she sees Ronnie and Leanne together joking about something, and it bothers her.

Then Debbie suddenly collapses. She wakes up to find Kevin and Abi (Sally Carman) by her side and they tell her she has to go to hospital.

Debbie tells them there’s no need for that. She knows what’s wrong with her, she says – and tells them she has dementia.