Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) has been dealt some devastating news about her much-loved son Jason (Ryan Thomas) in Coronation Street.
Jason was a regular on the ITV soap for over 15 years, but moved to Thailand in 2016.
During his time in Weatherfield, he dated a number of the town’s women, including Sarah Barlow (Tina O’Brien) and Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) and was owner of the builder’s yard on Victoria Street for a number of years.
His departure was sparked when his late dad Tony Stewart (Terence Maynard) was blamed for the death of Callum Logan (Sean Ward), who had actually been murdered by Kylie Platt (Paula Lane).
Deciding to leave the neighbourhood until the scandal blew over, he jetted off for pastures new but decided to stay there permanently when Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre) lost £65,000 of his money in a property scam.
Eileen has visited him, off-screen, on a number of occasions, including in 2020 when she was forced to extend her trip due to travelling restrictions surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic.
She made a short visit there early last year, which facilitated actress Sue Cleaver’s appearance in survival reality series I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
In tonight’s (24th April) episode, Eileen was furious with her other son Todd (Gareth Pierce) after learning he’d been snooping around Shuttleworth’s funeral parlour, which is owned by her boyfriend George (Tony Maudsley).
Earlier in the week, George had upset his sister Glenda (Jodie Prenger) by saying he’d given his Eileen, or Eyelash as he calls her, power of attorney in his will.
He also told Todd he’d left him something behind, and keen to find out what it was, he began snooping at the undertakers.
Discovering that the business was to be his one day, he quickly stashed away the document, but upon doing so found George’s dad Archie’s (Roy Hudd) own will, revealing that 50% of the family trade belonged to Glenda.
This isn’t the first time that Archie’s estate has caused issues for the residents of Coronation Street.
Upon his death in 2018, he left Ken Barlow (William Roache) a brass monkey statue, whilst Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) was given a whopping £80,000.
The cash was later stolen by her grandson Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), who used it to open up barber’s shop Trim Up North.
Later in tonight’s instalment, Eileen, knowing exactly what Todd is capable of, knew that he was acting suspiciously and urged him to do the right thing.
However, their conversation was interrupted by a phone call from Jason’s girlfriend who informed her that he’d fallen off his motorbike and had been rushed to hospital with a broken back.
Eileen informed her family that she’d booked flights, and would be leaving tomorrow.
This story has been written into the show to facilitate Sue Cleaver’s appearance as Mother Superior in the nationwide tour of Sister Act: The Musical, so we reckon she’ll be gone for a while during Jason’s recovery.
But in her absence, will Todd tell George the truth?
