Coronation Street sparks uproar as fans fear iconic character future is on the rocks

Coronation Street fans were left up in arms after the fate of one iconic character was called into question. On Monday (September 29), ITV viewers caught up with their favourite locals on the cobbles as Abi Webster (Sally Carman-Duttine) and Carl's (Jonathan Howard) affair was discovered by Debbie (Sue Devaney). After arranging a birthday rendezvous, Debbie caught Kevin's half-brother half-naked in a hotel room waiting for Abi's arrival.

But that wasn't the only drama that sent tongues wagging. Moments before the credits rolled, Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) was seen forcing back tears as she swept up outside the Rovers Return. As she wiped tears from her face, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) called her over and asked why cobbled legend Rita Tanner (Barbara Knox) wasn't answering the door. It was at this point that she revealed that the auburn beauty had taken a tumble, and doctors made a horrifying discovery.

George began, "Jenny, I've been buzzing up at Rita's, but I haven't had any answer. I got her these flowers, and I just thought I'd pop round and see if she's okay, but clearly not."

Sally revealed: "We're not long back from the hospital. She thought that she'd just hurt her ankle, and she wasn't expecting a scan or for the results to be bad."

George tentatively asked: "Dare I ask what the scan showed?" before correcting himself, saying: "No, don't tell me, that's Rita's business. I hope it's not as bad as an old colleague of mine. He went into the hospital with a broken leg and found out he had stage four bowel cancer."

Although Jenny reassured him that "it's not as bad as that," fans swarmed to social media to share their concerns online. One user penned: "What in God's name is going on here? Are they going to kill Rita?" Another asked: "When did Rita go to the hospital?" as a third echoed: "They're killing off Rita????"

Last week, fans saw Rita's consultation with the doctor unfold, where she was told that they had found a lump that could be malignant. The doctor revealed: "You haven't got dementia, but there is a lump there, a tumour.

"I know it must be a shock, we'll know more when we've operated. We will do it within the next couple of weeks. The operation itself is risky, and there is a chance that the tumour is malignant.

"We'll need to take it out and have a look at it under the microscope, but there is a small chance that it could be something more aggressive, such as cancer."

Fans will have to stay tuned to see if Rita's treatment will cure her illness. Coronation Street airs on weekdays from 8pm on ITV1 or catch up on ITVX.