Coronation Street Karen McDonald's Final Appearance1

[@shanefolan]

I seriously think this has to be one of the strongest and finest performance by an actress I've ever seen on screen-absolutely Oscar winning acting here from Suranne.

[@shanefolan]

i can see why suranne jones wanted to leave at the end, her character was very intense so i can only imagine how exhausted she must have felt by the time she left especially in emotional scenes like this.

[@markmorris7123]

Exhausted?? Try working 8 hours a day on a building sute

[@shanefolan]

@@markmorris7123 I do work in building sites and often work 7.30 to 5.30 or 7 to 6. I'm not comparing jobs though. I'm saying acting very intense scenes like Suranne had so many of would certainly be an exhausting task amid having to learn huge amounts of dialogue. Mike Reid [Frank from Eastenders] had to leave it in the 90s as he was doing a depression story amid his character's decline into a mental breakdown. Playing such intense scenes had an effect of Reid's own mental health and he had to be written out as he himself started suffering depression. Bill Treacher [ Arthur Fowler] said he too was playing a depression storyline and it affected his mental health and he'd go home in the evenings and cry some nights it was so draining on him and left him mentally exhausted. Furthermore, Michelle Ryan [Zoe Slater] had to be written out of Eastenders for several months in 2002 under doctors orders she admitted because it was during the era when the Slaters were heavily featured and she was playing very intense scenes and it began to affect her mental health and left her exhausted. Rowena Wallace who played Pat the Rat in Sons and Daughters said the same. Her character was a drunk and drug addict and Wallace said she was doing so many emotionally heavy scenes that it left her exhausted and she had to leave in the end. I've never acted myself but I can imagine if you were playing heavy emotional scenes day after day over a long term storyline arc it definitely would spill into your own life. You can't just switch it off. It stays with you.

[@lukemaccallum3150]

@@markmorris7123 Site. You mean building SITE

[@aprilfisher4947]

Suranne Jones probably had other roles lined up as she did alot of stuff after corrie and still does.

[@CarlD2]

These scenes are superb. I wish they gave Simon Gregson more dramatic material. It also reinforces that in spite of the claims of Corrie being about comedy and EE being about drama, that Corrie, when it tries, can produce some absolutely fantastic drama. It's made more real because the characters are not in constant misery.

[@AmeliaCharlotte1212]

She's such a brilliant actress😌❤️.

[@kaysmith8992]

I wish she had still been around when Becky and Carla came along... Becky for the affair with Steve, and Carla as factory boss.

[@angelasmithson5291]

'I DON'T WANT YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESEEENNNTTSSS!!'! 😅😅😅🎅

[@penresistance95]

I know Karen messed up royally by having Steve and Tracy think she killed Amy but her situation with Steve was incredibly toxic and I'm not surprised it pushed her over the edge. Steve cheated on her repeatedly. He can bring up Joe Carter all he wants. Karen wasn't even casually with him until after Steve cheated on her the first time around. What did he expect? He even told Karen that cheating on her was "revenge" because he assumed she slept with Carter when she didn't. Dude can't play by his own rules, clearly. As for him having a relationship with Amy: ultimately, Tracy was the problem here. There was a whole lot of Tracy making fun of Karen for not being able to have a child of her own but there was never any hint of Steve defending his wife from these taunts. He just repeatedly made out that Karen was being irrational because he was too much of a doormat to realize that having access to his daughter did not mean he had to keep Tracy in the picture. He brings up Fathers4Justice and yet he didn't go within a mile of any courthouse to argue that Tracy hanging over his life like she did in exchange for him having a relationship with his daughter was bad for his marriage. And his wife's mental state. And then Karen had a miscarriage, which is a traumatic thing for any woman to go through. Never mind one who has to deal with her husband's mistress tormenting her and flaunting their lovechild in her face. Thus, she snapped. Granted, Amy shouldn't have been involved in her meltdown but Tracy also shouldn't have used Karen's infidelity as the butt of her jokes. If Steve had been smart enough to put two and two together, he would've realized that this is why Karen's miscarriage was so devastating to her personally but hey: this is why he runs a cab company for a living. End essay.

[@victoriajames1335]

Great actress. Went on to bigger and definitely better things.

[@PrincessofPower84]

The TARDIS!

[@kell90]

I can understand Karen's frustration and breakdown as Tracy cruelly taunted Karen by calling her "Barren Karen" because she couldn't conceive which is so cruel and lorded it with the pram at Karen rubbing her nose in it , yes Steve shouldn't of cheated on her , he should of had access to Amy but without Tracy there so Karen might of had chance to bond with Amy and Tracy couldn't of tormented Karen then, but Steve taking Tracy's side in the end must of been the ultimate punch in the gut for Karen, I felt sorry for Karen in the end.

[@shanefolan]

yes it is...'NO IT ISN'T' -best line ever

[@007beck9]

"Men of being climbing cranes dressed as Batman" 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@BubblyJubbly]

7:18 Probably Simon Gregson’s best performance in Corrie history.

[@allisonladage5703]

I agree. He’s amazing in this scene.

[@AlbieGray]

Karen's breakdown is harrowing, but Steve was right on this one. Even pretending to kill his daughter, Amy, was something that he couldn't overlook. Amy is his daughter, and Karen only sabotaged her own marriage by insisting that he deny Amy.

[@kell90]

Steve shouldn't of slept about

[@cabahab2996]

@@kell90 true think he drove her half nuts ......

[@ymarw1684]

@@kell90 they were split up when Amy was conceived and Karen had cheated on him with Joe Carter before this.

[@kell90]

@Y Marw I know it's only a soap but they both as bad as each other then

[@JustinBamber]

Your wrong

[@JamesMc-pj1hx]

The way he shouts " no it isn't" was a brilliant delivery by simon gregson. He totally matched suranne there in her performance.

[@u.k.trainandbusvids]

Karen went way too far she provoked Tracy too far even provoking Steve glad he chucked her out if Karen did that to me and made me think I lost my daughter I would divorce her and send her to somewhere she hates to start a new life

[@jaredporikos2197]

Team Karen

[@sophiestrong4505]

Steves an idiot who only thinks with his c0¢k so I'm glad she left him. She deserved alot better than him

[@shanefolan]

The irony was that Karen's jealously and anger were for nothing, it all stemmed from fear of tracey stealing steve but truth is that steve never felt anything for her.There was no threat there.

[@shanefolan]

@Abbie Hazel Florence Hunter yea because the writers exhausted Steve's repetitive story line of drifting from 1 woman to the next so paired him with Tracey as there was nothing else to do with him rather than find him another woman. For much of 2005 though after Karen left, Steve repeatedly rejected Tracey's advances though until she got bored and finally moved on. If somebody better came along though Steve wouldn't think twice about abandoning her.

[@msmilano7091]

Shane Folan Tracy and Steve are actually good together though.

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@msmilano7091 with those pathetic schemes ?

[@kaysmith8992]

@@jaredporikos2197 for all her bravado I think Tracy has always genuinely liked Steve. And Amy has knocked a bit more sense into Tracy over the years.

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@kaysmith8992 Yes that's true ! I like how Amy was like this bitch , my mom is gonna learn

[@davidfearis7335]

Well you've absolutely ruined that Christmas Tree!!!

[@PrincessofPower84]

Lol

[@Ospyro3em]

I feel like i'm in the minority, but I never cared much for Karen- her facial expression seemed to be a permanent sneer and she was very volatile, even before all this. Regardless, the acting here was superb

[@msmilano7091]

I actually hated Karen in this Episode. Not once did she think about Steve's feelings. It was all about her. She tried to cut both Amy and Liz out of Steve's life shortly after she and Steve got married. She wasn't that great a character

[@rachelburns6267]

What Karen did was despicable , though .... The poor woman was pushed to the brink ! The whole of her marriage and relationship with Steve , Karen has had to endure the wrath that is Tracy Barlow ! Yes .. she was needy and selfish though every step of the way , Tracy has been there , causing trouble , trying to ruin Karen and Steve's marriage ! Fast forward the end of this marriage and Tracy is still causing havoc in Steve's relationships ...

[@mattylamb9194]

Tracy did cause Karen to become absolutely insane with jealousy, with her constant jibes and manipulations. Didn;t mean she got her man, (at the time), but she succeeded in destroying Karen really

[@natalievitale1371]

Karen should have been the better person and rose above it and let Steve be a dad which she could see deep down but she choice to try ignore it. She destroyed herself just as much

[@natalievitale1371]

She had her chances to walk when she found out Steve was Amy's dad. She cant have it all her own way and expect eternal roses

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@natalievitale1371 I loved that Karen did that Tracy , Tracy had it coming

[@stopbullyingta4162]

he's so unsympathetic and doesn't care about karen.

[@shanefolan]

no Karen was in the wrong here, steve stood by her for months but karen wouldn't trust him and drove him away- she destroyed her marriage herself with her paranoia and obsession over tracey who steve would never have looked at twice.

[@davidfearis7335]

Well his father is Jim McDonald what do you expect

[@emmadavies9898]

It's all Tracy doing this Tracy did this to Becky I think steve is bad man Steve in the wrong not Karen poor Karen

[@emmadavies9898]

Don't go with Steve because Tracy cause trouble for you I don't like Steve any way

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@emmadavies9898 I hate him to

[@PrincessofPower84]

Ohhh, Karen. How I miss her! I swear, Suranne Jones and Sally Lindsay were among my first girl crushes. So ironic they're now on the same show (good one btw, I first laid eyes on it while on vacation in Niagara Falls last fall.)

[@Laceychisholm]

7:18 After Karen said “I thought u weren’t gonna shout at me” what did u think he was going to do u shouted at him 😅😅😅

[@darrenpimlott4703]

Suranne Jones went to my college in Oldham

[@christinefougere1444]

So much of this storyline was repeated with Becky.

[@davidfearis7335]

And its repeating with Michelle

[@jaredporikos2197]

@Ak Am I would hope they would have teamed up though , and Michelle that why they could destory steves life

[@tracygrant7931]

Becky was a cool character though

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@tracygrant7931 yyyyyyyaaaasss

[@lukemaccallum3150]

Very true. Big similarities between Karen and Becky. Becky is from the same part of South Yorkshire as me, a small old mining town called Barnsley

[@TheDudezer]

how would u like to be their next door neighbors?

[@littlemixfan756]

She’s needs to come back

[@shanefolan9175]

as much chance of Suranne Jones coming back than there is of Paris Hilton winning an Oscar.

[@AlbieGray]

You got that right. With Corrie more lighthearted and EE more dramatic, when it happens, Corrie comes up with some pretty impressive drama as well!

[@stemple11100]

never really got all the sympathy people had for karen tbh from what i saw she was just a selfish materialistic gobby cow who thought she had the right to control everything around her, as much as i dislike tracy i was rooting for her over karen during the majority of this story

[@mattylamb9194]

I think Karen and Steve actually got married for a bet, if I remember

[@jaredporikos2197]

stemple 11100 , Team Karen

[@dawnfinch2836]

Suranne Jones brilliant actress

[@aoifekennedy9004]

Sorry can someone explain to me what the description means what does it mean “Kill Amy” ?

[@sunsetexplorer63936]

Tracy was going to spend Christmas with Peter, but left Amy in the car to quickly get something. Karen took that opportunity to steal the car and set fire to it, letting Tracy and Steve assume she’d done it with her inside and killed her, when actually Karen just wanted to torch the car, but when she discovered Amy was there, she torched it but then secretly took her to Roy.

[@aoifekennedy9004]

@@sunsetexplorer63936I know now but thank you for explaining it to me 😊

[@BenKellyMusic92]

I've never known a more self-centred narcissistic female character in Corrie than Karen McDonald. Nearly every other sentence out of her mouth was about herself, and most of her actions were self-serving. Liz was right. All she wanted to be perceived as was Queen of the Flamin' May rather than the brawling gobby slapper she really was. Steve will forever be better off without her 🎉

[@gadfageyar]

I remember this. I hated Tracey at the time, but I was 100%with her on trying to kill Karen for this!

[@kaysmith8992]

Steve MacDonald is a Corrie treasure and should never be allowed to leave Weatherfield. He and Peter Barlow just steal every scene for me.

[@AlbieGray]

In a lot of ways, Karen is really striking a lot of attitude here. She claims that Steve didn't suffer when she lost her baby, and so justifies what she did by pretending to kill Steve's baby with Tracy. A more selfish person there never was. Tracy was evil, I grant you that, but not even SHE deserved what she got from Karen. And all because Karen wanted her to suffer! Karen was selfish here, and Steve was right in driving her out of his house and life for good!

[@mattylamb9194]

Karen could be selfish and aggressive, but I liked her directness and loyalty. Tracy destroyed her basically.

[@shanefolan]

@@mattylamb9194 no Karen destroyed Karen, her insecurity ruined her.

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@shanefolan Team Karen

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@shanefolan Tracy was asking for that anyway

[@davidfearis7335]

9:10-9:25 TEMPER TEMPER

[@andrewjamesfoley3825]

Haha

[@saanzacs]

"You finished?"

[@emmadavies9898]

Tracy evil to Karen

[@TheJoker27780]

I miss Karen.

[@maxwelljohnson5028]

TheJoker27780 she was a mean mean person

[@jaredporikos2197]

@@maxwelljohnson5028 team Karen

[@carmelrea352]

Suranne a great actress.

[@AlexGarrickActress]

wonder what ever happened to this actress, I hope she's doing well ;)

[@natalievitale1371]

Shes been in loads of stuff.. Doctor Foster and Gentlemen Jack just to name a few ..they're recent programmes to and both very good

[@AlexGarrickActress]

@@natalievitale1371 lol sorry i was being sarcastic as shes obviously really successfull

[@natalievitale1371]

🤣🤣 fair play

[@shanefolan]

@@AlexGarrickActress Ha sarcasm doesn't always translate well on paper as it's hard to sense the tone.

[@davidfearis7335]

Is it Karen leaving Steve or Steve throwing Karen out?

[@ymarw1684]

Steve chucked her out and Karen accepted that their marriage was over and left.

[@daltenkeeping9488]

Peter needs to come over Karen,s see what is going on Karen had a argument with Tracy and Amy that Karen kidnapping Amy why Karen drop off Amy to Roy and Haley why Karen what you done to Amy and Tracy what did Tracy done Karen had a argument over Steve and Liz and putting drugs in Karen husband vickum Peter need to punch Karen what she done

[@suesmith3744]

Love Suranne Jones

[@ysgol3]

I always loathed barren Karen. I liked Steve when he was plausible though, not the gurning caricature he's been for years.

[@Christianna73]

Miss you Karen

[@imransesay5869]

That not fair Steve cheated on her

[@ymarw1684]

She cheated on Steve first with Joe Carter, and Amy was conceived when Steve and Karen were split up.

[@shanefolan9175]

@@ymarw1684 no steve had the one night stand with the girl and she left him for Joe. In fairness, she told Steve she wouldn't cheat on her marriage and she didn't.

[@scarlettthebrave5854]

Simon gregson is all comedy lines now on Corrie. It’s a waste of his talent

[@nicholasjones6021]

😭

[@abbieroseholden4174]

Michelle was right though he never learned

[@saschastapleton-lawrence2389]

Felt very very very sorey for karon

[@lukemaccallum3150]

Sorry not sorey Karen not Karon

[@JustinBamber]

Steve is out of order fact

[@donnavince7946]

Couldn't stand karen