Corrie fave Seb Franklin will reportedly discover he is HIV positive in bombshell scenes that will be on screen next month and break his teen girlfriend’s heart.
Seb, who’s played by Harry Visinoni, will find out he has the virus in what will be the soap’s first storyline about HIV involving a major character.
And needless to say, reactions from girlfriend Faye (played by Ellie Leach) and the other residents of the Street are mixed.
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“Coronation Street has never been afraid of tackling taboo subjects and this is no different,” a source told The Sun.
“Seb’s storyline isn’t going to see him go on a huge ‘journey’ and be drawn over months and years but the initial scenes are sure to be shocking.
“The episodes, which will air next month, will show realistic attitudes both positive and negative to HIV. Producers aren’t going to sugarcoat it, but they also want to show that life doesn’t end with a diagnosis.”
It’s the first time Corrie’s featured a main character who is HIV positive, though last year Todd Grimshaw, played by Bruno Langley, dated a man with the virus and had a scare when he thought he had contracted the disease.
The soap, and Harry himself, are said to be working closely with the Terrence Higgins Trust to make sure the scenes are accurate and tastefully done.
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Back in the 1990s, EastEnders was praised for tackling the issue of HIV and AIDS when Mark Fowler (played by Todd Carty) contracted the disease.
And more recently, Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) in Hollyoaks discovered he was HIV positive. That storyline was credited with encouraging young people to get themselves tested for the disease.
Teen tearaway Seb has won the hearts of viewers with his sweet romance with schoolgirl mum Faye Windass. But Faye’s mum Anna and dad Tim weren’t so keen on the bad lad at first and Faye even made plans to run away with Seb so they could keep seeing each other.
But Seb didn’t want to go and Anna discovered he was living in squalor, looking after his young siblings, and having a pretty grim time of it.
Anna is really protective of Faye, who shockingly got pregnant and gave birth to little Miley when she was just 13. So it’s no surprise she was worried about her romance with thieving Seb at first – especially when his influence got Faye into trouble and even landed her in hospital with an infected tattoo!
How will the Windasses react when they discoverer the light-fingered lad is HIV positive? Will it be the end of his cute romance with Faye?
Or will they take the troubled teenager under their wing and make him part of their blended family?