Coronation Street couple David and Shona Platt are set to split in shock scenes next week - as Julia Goulding returns to the Cobbles.
Things have been tough for David and Max following Shona's exit, as the teenager faced charges in relation to his association with a far-right extremist group. Next week, Max is finally sentenced and placed in a juvenile detention facility after he pleaded guilty at his hearing related to the horror stabbing attack on the soap last month.
After knifeman Blake had live streamed the attack on social media, he told police that Max’s propaganda videos inspired him to go on a stabbing spree, meaning Max was also dragged into what had happened.
Next week, David is struggling when he finds out that Max has been attacked whilst inside. He finds solace in alcohol and heads alone to Victoria Garden to contemplate and think about how it all turned out like this.
Maria is sympathetic to David's feelings, but when he leans in and tries to kiss her, she orders him to go home. David heads to see Alya and is surprised when Shona appears at the restaurant.
She reassures him that she'll always be there - and that they can face everything together from now on.
However, things take a turn when Maria tells Gary about David’s attempt to kiss her as he races to give David a piece of his mind. Finding David and Shona in the Rovers, Shona is mortified by what's happened and she hurries out.
David apologises to Gary, saying he was drunk and he deeply regrets what happened. He returns home and Shona tells David that she’s leaving him. But is this the end for the couple - or will they be able to patch up their differences?
Some fans had been convinced Shona would depart the Cobbles as another one of Stephen's victims. However, at the time, David actor Jack P Shepherd confirmed that Shona's reason was leaving was nothing sinister.
"No, no she’s not [going to be Stephen’s next victim]. It’s not dramatic at all. I can tell you she goes off to look after Lily in London. She’s doing a football tournament in London and she needs a chaperone," he told The Mirror.
"She goes, ‘I’ll go’, and goes off on maternity leave. The last time Julia went off on maternity leave Shona got shot! So it was like, what are we gonna do? Are we gonna do that again, is she gonna leave David? But no, it is gonna be a run of the mill."
