Corrie's heartbreaking Mason storyline nearly had very different ending
Coronation Street writer Joe Parkinson has revealed that Mason Radcliffe's tragic death could have played out very differently, as earlier versions of the plot involved a shocking twist that was eventually scrapped.
Mason was killed off earlier this year in a devastating storyline that tackled the real-world issue of knife crime. After a troubled past that saw him threaten Liam Connor with a knife, Mason had been turning his life around. He served his time in prison and was preparing to leave Weatherfield for a fresh start with a job opportunity in Germany.
Before his departure, the reformed teen agreed to help DS Swain by providing evidence against his brothers, Matty and Logan, who she believed were responsible for the death of her wife, Becky. But his cooperation proved fatal.
Matty and Logan cornered Mason in a park for a violent revenge attack. Dylan Wilson attempted to intervene, but when his zombie knife was wrestled away, the brothers used it to fatally stab Mason.
While at the Royal Television Society's Deep Dive: Writing for Soap event, Parkinson revealed that this shocking character arc was not the original plan for Mason.
He said the storyline was originally centred around Liam's experience with bullying, and got "put off for a long time". He added: "I pitched it with another writer and it never seemed like the right moment. Originally, it was, I think, Liam stabbing Dylan and we didn't want to do that with either character at the time.
"Then it became Mason, so that was another thing that we sort of refined and refined over months with story conference until it became what you saw on screen."
In the final version of the story, Dylan was sent to a Secure Training Centre, while Matty and Logan were jailed for Mason's murder.
Soap star Luca Toolan, who played Mason, has embraced a new chapter of his life since leaving Coronation Street. The 21-year-old has launched a career in teaching and is now hosting acting classes with Bee Rogue Talent.
He recently posted on social media, telling fans: "I am keeping myself busy as best as possible and I am running some acting classes. It is going to be great and we are going to do a lot of script analysis, improvisation, character development and learning and teaching the craft of acting."
Fans congratulated him after the announcement, with one saying: "Congratulations hunnie you gonna smash this out the park." During his goodbye speech after leaving Coronation Street, the actor told viewers: "Thank you. What an honour and privilege it's been to be a part of this show, and to be trusted with this story. Truly."
He is now also set to appear in a new comedy pilot titled Grass Roots, which will feature him alongside his father, radio host Mike Toolan, and Loose Women star Sheree Murphy.
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