Coronation Street: Leanne Battersby's life-changing decision explained as Steve begs her to drop Oliver appeal
STEVE McDonald begs Leanne Battersby to let their son Oliver die next week in Coronation Street after she launches an appeal to save him.
The parents launched a legal battle last month in the ITV soap to save Oliver, who has been diagnosed with an incurable form of mitochondrial disease. But will Steve get through to Leanne?
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Is Steve going to turn against Leanne in Corrie?
The court will rule this Friday (November 13) that Oliver’s life support should be switched off so that his suffering isn’t prolonged.
But Leanne will remain in denial about her son and decide she’s going to launch an appeal, asking Steve to stand by her side.
After watching the court scenes this week, Corrie fans are convinced that Steve is already starting to doubt whether prolonging Oliver’s suffering is really for the best.
One fan tweeted: "It looks as if Steve is starting to doubt what him & Leanne are doing is right!"
Another added: "I think Steve is starting to turn against Leanne and her wishes to keep Oliver alive. He is just scared of what Leanne would do if he decided to turn against her #Corrie."
Sure enough, spoilers have revealed that Imran will notice Steve’s doubts next week and tell him he needs to be fully on board if they’re going to go ahead with the appeal.
Leanne does her best to convince Steve, but it’s not long before he bottles it and tells her they need to let Oliver go.
Will Steve manage to get through to Leanne?
Will Leanne drop the appeal in Corrie?
It’s not yet clear whether Steve’s change of heart will spur Leanne intro dropping the appeal, or whether she’ll remain in denial about Oliver’s condition.
But viewers are hoping Leanne will finally face the sad truth about her son.
One viewer said: "Leanne needs to accept that Oliver is going to die. This is truly upsetting."
Another added: "I feel so sorry for Leanne but she has to let Oliver go 🙁 #corrie."
Speaking to What’s On TV, actress Jane Danson – who plays Leanne – said she is ‘proud’ of the storyline.
She explained: "From a creative point of view, I’ll probably never get a story as strong and as powerful as this again. It has been such a gift of a story to explore, and an honour to be trusted with something so delicate."
She added: "In terms of logistics [because of the pandemic], it has been quite difficult, working in a way in which we can’t have physical contact, and can’t have children on set as much as we’d like. So that has been hard, but we have got used to it.
“Being in a hospital for 12 hours a day, talking about a dying child, is pretty heavy, but we’ve balanced it with lighter moments.
"We’ve all tackled this knowing that it’s a real story that happens to real families, so we owe it to them to tell it as truthfully as we can.
“Obviously, we’ve had the twisty soap elements mixed in, but in terms of a story about Oliver’s illness, we’re really proud of what we’ve been able to do during such strange times.”
What’s wrong with Oliver in Corrie?
Oliver was officially diagnosed with an incurable form of mitochondrial disease back in June, which will eventually take his life.
The soap has been working closely with The Lily Foundation, a charity that supports families and funds medical research into mitochondrial disease, so that the storyline accurately mirrors the experience of families with children affected by the disease.
Liz Curtis, CEO and co-founder of The Lily Foundation said: "All of us at The Lily Foundation are excited to be working with Coronation Street on a storyline about a child with a mitochondrial disorder, and grateful to the show for highlighting an issue that affects hundreds of families in the UK.
"For everyone who has worked hard for years to raise awareness about mitochondrial diseases, in particular for families living with a diagnosis and those who have lost a child, having their story told on one of the nation's most popular soap operas is truly momentous news.
"There is currently no cure for mitochondrial diseases, so those diagnosed face an uncertain future.
"We have been impressed with how sensitively the show's researchers and script writers have handled this, listening to those who have been affected by the disease and the doctors who support them.
"We see this as a very positive step in our ongoing fight to raise awareness about mitochondrial diseases, support affected families and fund research to find a cure."
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