Bethany Platt of Coronation Street will always have a stoma as a result of a disastrous cosmetic procedure that happened overseas.
In dramatic moments, Lucy Fallon’s character, having traveled to Turkey for liposuction, may develop sepsis. She is hospitalized due to a fatal infection, which has caused irreversible damage and necessitates the creation of a stoma—a surgically made abdominal aperture that joins the colon to the skin. Sarah, her anxious mother (Tina O’Brien), dashes to her bedside.
Lucy said: “When I first heard about it I was pleased that they have trusted me with it because it’s an important storyline and, of course, I really enjoy doing issue-based storylines. Obviously, this is really hard-hitting, which is exciting from an actor’s point of view, but it does come with quite a lot of pressure and responsibility to get it right because this happens to real life people.”
Lucy, who joined Coronation Street in 2015, says she hopes her honest portrayal of the dangers involved with cosmetic tourism makes a difference. “The storyline is also incredibly important as there (are) countless horror stories out there of people talking about their experiences of cosmetic surgery abroad,” she continued. “I really hope this storyline can make people rethink going abroad for cosmetic surgery.”
Bethany will decide to undergo liposuction at a clinic after she accepts a job with a cosmetic surgery company to write an advertorial on their new facility in Turkey. Following the procedure, Bethany’s family has to work out how to raise funds to get her discharged as she did not declare the surgery on her travel insurance.
Corrie has been working closely with UK charity Colostomy UK for the storyline. Giovanni Cinque, marketing and campaigns manager at Colostomy UK, said: “We’re really excited that one of the UK’s most loved TV shows is going to feature a major character living with a stoma.
“Even though public awareness has grown considerably over the last few years thanks to a number of celebrities revealing they have had surgery, the challenges that the 200,000 plus people living with a stoma in the UK face are less known, which means that we, as a society and as individuals, are not as aware as we should be of the choices that we can make to positively improve their quality of life. We really hope that Bethany’s journey will go a long way in helping to educate the audience, and thus help to create a more Stoma Aware UK. It’s also been a pleasure for us to work with the behind-the-scenes teams at Coronation Street on this story”.
A stoma is an opening on the surface of the abdomen which has been surgically created to divert the flow of faeces or urine, according to the Colostomy UK website. The operation to divert one end of the colon through an opening in the stomach is called a colostomy. Foreign Office travel advice says the standard of medical facilities and treatments can “vary widely globally” and highlights how six British nationals died in Turkey in 2023 after medical procedures.
Lucy, 28, is set to exit the ITV soap after announcing she is pregnant with her second child – a baby girl – with footballer boyfriend Ryan Ledson. The couple already have son Sonny Jude, one.
