Coronation Street's Sue Devaney speaks out ahead of 2027 exit

This article contains discussion of themes such as dementia, which some readers may find upsetting.

Coronation Street star Sue Devaney has spoken about her upcoming exit from the ITV soap, with the actor sharing that she doesn't know what the future holds after she leaves Weatherfield.

The star first played the character across 1984 and 1985, before being brought back full-time in 2019. It was revealed last year that Debbie had been diagnosed with dementia, with her exit set to take place in 2027.

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Though we don't know how the storyline will play out, Devaney has spoken with The Sun ahead of her on-screen departure, with the actor revealing that she hasn't yet got any future plans in mind.

"I have no idea, because I think, for me, I just like to keep it in the day," she said. "As an actor I'm probably gonna be here until next year. So you've got a year's work. Well, for any actor, that's amazing.

"If somebody said... you've got a theatre job for a year, you don't think: 'Oh, I'm gonna think about after that'. I know it's coming to an end, but you just think it's a year. What happens after a year?"

"I don't know what I'm doing after I've done where I am. Nobody knows – we just have to make the best of every day, don't we?" added the star, who has also appeared in Casualty and Dinnerladies.

While Devaney wasn't giving away too much information about the storyline's progression, she did confess that she is already getting emotional at the thought of leaving the role she first played over 40 years ago.

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"Sometimes, I do sit on the set now, like this morning. I sat on the set this morning with all my girlfriends – Sally Dynevor, Jodie Prenger and Amy Robbins – I just thought, 'Oh, I'll really miss this'," she recalled.

While the exact date of Devaney's departure isn't yet clear, Jonathan Howard - who plays Debbie's son Carl - claimed that his co-star's contract expires in August, so we've at least got a little while yet.

Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

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