Coronation Street's Steve McDonald and Tracy Barlow's fiery relationship may have endured cheating, prison spells and a ruined wedding, but the much-loved couple may be torn apart after recent harrowing news.
Steve and Leanne Battersby were left utterly devastated earlier this month after being told that their son has mitochondrial disease.
With their focus firmly on their ill child Oliver, soap boss Iain MacLeod has hinted that cracks could form between Steve, Leanne and their respective partners.
There was already tension between the two couples after Steve and Leanne's one night stand in 2018, resulting in a hilarious cake fight at Steve and Tracy's wedding.
They have since appeared to bury the hatchet, but the recent harrowing development with Oliver could pull them apart once again.
Speaking to Mirror TV and other news outlets earlier this month, Coronation Street's Executive Producer Iain said that Oliver's health will put Steve and Tracy's relationship to the test.
He said: "Ultimately, the diagnosis will mean that he's got to have a severely curtailed lifespan, which is something that is the worst possible news to Steve and Leanne.
"The story that really then becomes about their difficult journey to accepting that ultimately their son has a life-limiting condition."
He continued: "Also, the impact that has on their relationships with other loved ones because obviously, this story will draw them closer and closer together to the point where they are bonded more tightly than they've ever been."
Explaining how this impacts their other halves, he said: "The difficulty then for Nick and Tracy is they start to feel slightly shut out from that little triangle of Steve, Leanne and Oliver.
"It makes you the worst person in the world if you express that so the difficulties for Tracy and Nick are trying to find the best way through to support the person they love, while simultaneously feeling like they're being left out in the cold slightly."
*Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm on ITV
