It’s not been the easiest couple of years for Sophie Webster. First, she got drunk and fell from a church roof and then her wedding day to Sian went horribly awry. Now she’s set to feature in a horrendous road accident that could leave her unable to walk again. 

For such a level-headed girl, she’s proving to be no end of worry to her parents Kevin and Sally. So what’s the prognosis for Sophie following next week’s events? 

“The hospital tells Kevin and Sally that Sophie has suffered a fracture to her spine and that she faces an operation,” reveals Michael Le Vell, who plays Kevin. 

“They will only know whether there is any significant nerve damage once they operate. The doctors explain that no operation is 100 per cent safe and that, because they will be working so close to Sophie’s spinal cord, that there is added risk involved. They can’t tell Kevin at that point whether or not Sophie will be able to walk again. This latest news tears Kevin’s world apart.”

The reason for Sophie being in such a bad way is down to her attempts to pull Ryan back from the brink of disaster following a drunken bender. After scoring some coke and starting a fight, Ryan is a man on the edge. High on drugs, he starts to play chicken on a dual carriageway, but it’s Sophie that’s the one left badly injured. 

To make matters even worse, Ryan flees the scene of the accident once the ambulance arrives. So how does Kevin get to hear of Ryan’s feckless actions? 

“Sophie tells Kevin and Sally straight away what happened to her. She confirms that Ryan was being stupid and playing in the road. But what Sophie does not want to do is involve the police. She begs Kevin and Sally not to reveal Ryan’s identity and tells them that Ryan is her friend. 

“Kevin is incredulous when he hears this and wonders what type of friend would leave an unconscious Sophie to face a dash to hospital on her own.” 

In true Kevin style, he then runs Ryan to ground and has it out with him. 

“He tracks Ryan down to Michelle’s flat, hammers on the door and, when Steve answers, Kevin simply barges past him and launches himself at Ryan,” says Le Vell. “He lets his fists do the talking and then informs Michelle that Ryan had been taking cocaine and that his actions have led to the terrible situation that Sophie finds herself in.” 

So, will this ordeal lead to a big feud between the Websters and the Connors? After all, Kevin is a man who’s hard to placate when riled. 

“I’m not sure. Ryan is remorseful over what has happened to Sophie and, much to Kevin’s annoyance, Sophie really cares about Ryan. At the end of the day, Kevin and Sally have to respect Sophie’s wishes and having a feud with the Connors is not what she wants.”

But will one by-product of the accident be that Kevin and Sally are reunited? Since their split in 2010 following the exposure of Kevin’s affair with Molly Dobbs, it’s something that fans have been hoping to see. Will this latest crisis bring Kevin and Sally closer together? 

“It might do. It’s the million-dollar question that everyone asks me: ‘are Kevin and Sally going to get back together?’ Viewers will just have to see what the future has in store. 

“You never know, but Kevin and Sally have not been together for a very long time now, they both have moved on a lot with their separate lives.”