Coronation Street first-look as Daniel cheats on dying Sinead with Bethany

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The stress soon takes its toll, however, and Daniel storms out after a row insisting Sinead needs to be left alone to rest. Emotional Daniel bumps into Bethany under the bridge, who has harboured a crush on her colleague for months, and provides a shoulder to cry on as he breaks down.

Swept up in the moment, Daniel kisses the teenager - but the pair's passionate moment is witnessed by Ken Barlow (William Roache) who is stunned to see his son locking lips with another woman.

As Ken orders a guilt-ridden Daniel to return to his ailing wife, viewers will be wondering if Sinead discovers her other half's indiscretion before she dies…

When does Sinead die?

Corrie adds an extra episode next week, giving extra weight to Sinead's exit - a half hour instalment on Thursday 24th October focuses solely on the heartbreaking plot, as does an hour-long edition that follows on Friday 25th October in which the character makes her last appearance after more than six years in the show.

Sinead discovered she had cervical cancer in 2018 while pregnant with son Bertie. Worried medical treatment would harm her unborn child, she temporarily stopped chemotherapy and sought alternative therapies.

She restarted chemo and was responding well, but on her wedding day last month doctors delivered the devastating news the cancer had grown aggressive and untreatable, meaning she did not have long left to live.

"Life does sometimes take an unbelievably cruel turn," says producer Iain MacLeod, discussing the decision to kill the character off. "I spoke to Katie when I started on the show at length and we both felt Sinead dying was the most responsible way to end the story.

"Sometimes in soap people miraculously recover from a terrible illness as if it never happened. Telling the tough version was the right version."

McGlynn herself echoes the sentiment on the culmination of her alter ego's journey: "I said to Iain, life is not a fairy tale. Sometimes soaps and TV shows tend to do the happy ending, I thought we need to do the story properly to raise awareness. I hope people who have been through similar situations find it cathartic."

"Daniel and Sinead's relationship has been so believable and real," adds Mallard. "I feel so drained after a scene that's involved a lot of crying, so the grieving process you see on screen will be a lot easier to play because Daniel is sad that Sinead has gone - and I'm devastated I won't be working with Katie."

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