Coronation Street writer reveals alternative ending to tragic Mason death story

Coronation Street writer Joe Parkinson has revealed an alternative ending to Mason Radcliffe's death storyline.

Reformed bully Mason was tragically killed earlier this year in a horrific attack by his brothers. The storyline shone a light on the harrowing impact of knife crime.

After being in prison – for threatening Liam Connor with a knife – the teenager had been turning his life around and was heading to Germany for a new job opportunity.

Before he left, Mason agreed to help DS Swain gather evidence against his brothers Matty and Logan, who she suspected were responsible for her wife Becky's death.

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Hellbent on revenge, Logan and Matty later cornered Mason and when Dylan Wilson intervened with a zombie knife, they grabbed it off him, fatally stabbing Mason.

During a Royal Television Society event titled Deep Dive: Writing for Soap, Parkinson discussed the tragic story, which could have played out very differently.

The writer shared that the story was originally planned to follow Liam's bullying ordeal, but was "put off for a long time".

dylan wilson, mason radcliffe, coronation street

ITV

"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," he explained.

"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."

The outcome of the storyline saw both brothers in prison for killing Mason, while Dylan was sent to a Secure Training Centre for his role in the heartbreaking event.

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

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