Terrified of Ronan, Michelle goes on the run with Ryan and Ali!
Who will perish as the Connors face off against thug Ronan?
“MICHELLE CONFRONTS RONAN – BUT HE THREATENS HER ENTIRE FAMILY!”
Michelle faces one of the most terrifying moments of her life this week, as she enters into a tense game of cat-and-mouse with violent criminal Ronan – and we can confirm that the stand-off between them will end with at least one grisly death!
The gangster is baying for blood following the sudden death of his son, Cormac, and wants Ryan to pay for his involvement in the tragedy. But as Michelle makes the hasty decision to flee Weatherfield with sons Ryan and Ali in tow, who will pay the ultimate price when this violent vendetta reaches its gripping climax?
“Michelle goes into full protection mode – she doesn’t even think twice about the situation,” reveals Kym Marsh, who plays the petrified mum. “She’s scared, but when they jump in the car, she knows that they’re heading out of Weatherfield. Once she sees Ronan following them in the mirror, it turns to terror and panic. There’s this huge car chase – he’s trying to run her off the road, and it’s intense. It’s going to be a rough ride!”
Ryan’s regret
This whole life-and-death situation has come about as a result of Ryan’s foolish actions – only this time, he’s dragged Michelle’s other son Ali into the sorry saga too! After a night out with Ryan’s old pal Cormac ended with the latter taking a fatal overdose, Ryan called on Ali to help get him out of the tricky situation – but it was already too late for Cormac.
To make matters even worse, Ryan dragged his mother Michelle into the cover-up too, and she was forced to lie to protect her son from the ire of Cormac’s savage father, Ronan.
“Cormac’s death was obviously a big shock to everybody,” Kym reminds us. “Michelle would do anything for her sons, so she just wanted to cover it up. Ali was furious because he’d been dragged into the lie – he didn’t want to be a part of it, but went along with it because Michelle asked him to. However, after they found out that the drug dealer who supplied the dodgy pills to Cormac had been killed, everybody started fearing the worst.”
Escape plan
It wasn’t long before the police discovered Ryan’s involvement in Cormac’s death, and they hauled him to the station for questioning. But once he found out that Ronan was on the warpath, Ryan realised that being behind bars and out of the thug’s reach was probably the best place to be!
This week, however, Ryan discovers he’s not even safe on the inside, as there’s a corrupt officer in the station
who’s well and truly in Ronan’s pocket! So once Ryan returns home, battered and bruised from his run-in with the dodgy copper, Michelle decides that enough is enough…
“After Ryan is beaten by a police officer, and funeral wreaths are left at the flat, Michelle realises she must do something,” shares Kym. “So she confronts Ronan at Cormac’s wake – where he threatens not only
Ryan, but her entire family! Michelle is terrified.”
At this point, it’s clear that reasoning with Ronan just isn’t going to work…
With options running out, Michelle makes the decision to flee Weatherfield completely!
“She lies to Ryan and Ali that they’re going to the police to get them in the car,” explains Kym. “However, she’s realised that there is something dodgy going on with the authorities, and they’re not to be trusted. She’s terrified for her family’s safety, so when she gets in the car, she has no intention of going to the police.”
Sudden death!
However, Michelle, Ryan and Ali soon realise that Ronan is following them! Michelle’s a mum on a mission as she sticks pedal to the metal to outrun the gangster, and a nail-biting car chase follows.
“Those were great scenes to film, but they were long days – so we were all very tired by the end of it,” admits Kym. “There was a lot of emotion during filming, yet it was good fun. I got to do some stunt driving, and we never normally get to do things like that.”
The terrified trio finally come unstuck when the car’s engine dies, having been tampered with by Tracy (see p6)! With the family now sitting targets for Ronan, Ryan makes the bold decision to get out of the car and face the villain alone, in a misguided attempt to save his mum and Ali from any further harm. Despite this selfless gesture, Ronan wastes no time in driving straight at Ryan – and our pictures show the lad lying by the side of the road, covered in blood, with worried Michelle and Ali crouched over him! And it seems he’s in a bad way…
But is this really the end of the horrific ordeal? Recent behind-the-scenes snaps of the crash showed that Leanne was also at the site, looking extremely battered and bruised. So how does she end up becoming involved in the unfolding drama? And could there yet be even more bloodshed as Michelle strides off, determined to make Ronan pay for what he’s done to her son?
“MICHELLE DOESN’T TRUST THE POLICE – SHE’S TERRIFIED FOR HER FAMILY”