Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod has confirmed that Leanne Battersby and Steve McDonald will get closer in following their son's tragic diagnosis - but could this result in an affair?
Their young son Oliver will be diagnosed with Mitochondrial disease in heartbreaking scenes this week after he suffers another seizure.
As he is rushed to hospital, a number of tests will be taken and Leanne and Steve will be left utterly devastated.
Speaking to Mirror TV and other news outlets last week, Iain said: "This is a story about a family coming to terms with the most difficult news anyone can face and the ways in which this strengthens and shatters relationships in unpredictable ways.
"Above all, we wanted to do justice to the stories of the many thousands of families who have to deal with diagnoses similar to Oliver’s, be it a mitochondrial disorder or another life-limiting condition."
Confirming how Oliver would be affected, Iain said: "In Oliver’s case it was latent from first then manifest in 3-4. There are 100s maybe thousands of strands so his case is different. He was been asymptomatic but his diagnosis means he is going to have a seriously limited lifespan.
"It then goes on with how everyone copes with that – Leanne and Steve are bonded tightly more than ever and the difficulty is Tracy and Nick feel shut out from that little triangle.
"But it makes you the worst person in the world to express that so they try to support the one they love while keeping their own emotions to the side.
"Everyone will be permanently changed behind it but after they’ve been through the fire these relationships are lifelong and once you have been through something like this, it will make them stronger than ever before."
*Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm on ITV
