What happened to Karen McDonald on Coronation Street?

Her wedding to Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) started out as a bet and saw the pair on-again, off-again together for three dramatic years, with the relationship being interrupted by a shocking revelation from Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford).

Jones bowed out on Christmas Day 2004 after a four-year stint on the ITV soap, going to pursue other acting ventures, including in the likes of Christmas Carole and Maryland, but why did her character make such an impression? Read on to find out.

Who was Karen McDonald on Coronation Street?

Karen first appeared on Corrie in 2000 when she pulled a favour from her friend Linda Sykes (Jacqueline Chadwick) and was taken on as a machinist at Underworld.

She had quite a strict upbringing, courtesy of her ultra-religious parents. She found solace in her friendship with Linda and, when her father beat her up, she decided to go and live with her.

After her official introduction to the soap, Karen had several flings with some of the men of Weatherfield, including Vikram Desai (Emmerdale's Chris Bisson) and a one-night stand with Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne).

After Karen started dating Steve, her colleague Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) became responsible for initiating one of the strangest storylines on the soap. After telling Karen that none of her boyfriends took her seriously, she bet £10 that Karen wouldn't be able to get engaged.

A hurt Karen convinced Steve to propose in front of a packed Rovers. When Janice upped the stakes betting two days' wages if they'd actually tie the knot, the two surprisingly went ahead and walked down the aisle.

Starting out as a dare, the wedding actually took place and the pair realised they loved each other following their honeymoon in Florida.

Karen saw herself and Steve as the Posh and Becks of the cobbles, and wanted their lifestyle to suit their supposed reputation by going to live in a new apartment complex and landing a coveted job at a furniture store.

The pair hit the rocks after Karen returned at Underworld, where Joe Carter (Jonathan Wrather) used her managerial position to attempt to steal the factory from Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs). The two had an affair after Karen found out Steve had been cheating on her and caved to Joe's empty promises of a high life together.

Once Mike discovered the scam, both Joe and Karen were driven out of Weatherfield. Karen went to stay with her aunt out of town, but Steve found her and repaid Mike of the money she had stolen from him.

Following Steve's big gesture, he and Karen reunited.

What happened to Karen McDonald?

Karen was then focused on having the wedding of her dreams following the rushed ceremony they had at the Rovers years prior.

After a romantic proposal from Steve, the couple threw themselves into wedding planning - but their happiness was short-lived when Tracy dropped a bombshell on them.

She revealed that her daughter Amy was Steve's and proceeded to tell everyone at the wedding, leaving a brokenhearted Karen to pick up the pieces.

The wedding went ahead when Steve insisted he didn't love Tracy. However, the two women embarked on a very public rivalry, with Karen determined to make Tracy pay for having ruined her big day.

Karen was also eager to get pregnant, thinking that having a baby would somehow cement her union with Steve. When she did finally get pregnant, Karen was elated - but she sadly miscarried.

This threw her over the edge, resulting in her kidnapping baby Amy to let Tracy believe she had killed her daughter. Karen's stunt led to a furious row at Underworld, in which Tracy was determined to kill her until Steve was shown that Amy was with Roy Cropper (David Neilson).

Tired of Karen's lies and deceits, Steve told her he wanted nothing to do with her. His wife left the cobbles on a snowy Christmas Day in 2004 and filed for divorce on Valentine's Day the following year.

Who played Karen McDonald?

Karen was played by Suranne Jones.

After leaving the soap, the actress bagged several other roles, receiving critical acclaim for her performance in 2009 miniseries Unforgiven, written by Sally Wainwright, who would become a frequent collaborator of hers.

Between 2015 and 2017, she starred in the lead role on BBC One's Doctor Foster, for which she received a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress in 2016.

She then featured in Wainwright's 2019 queer period drama Gentleman Jack opposite Peaky Blinders' Sophie Rundle, as well as 2021 thriller Vigil.

She recently appeared in ITV's Maryland alongside House of the Dragon's Eve Best.

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Coronation Street airs weeknights on ITV. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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