Major Coronation Street spoilers follow from Monday’s episode (January 6), which is available to watch now on streaming service ITVX but hasn’t yet aired on ITV1.
Coronation Street star Luca Toolan has left the soap after more than a year in the role of Mason Radcliffe.
The young actor’s exit storyline aired in Monday’s episode as the ITV soap launched a new storyline focusing on knife crime.
Corrie fans have recently seen Mason make plans to leave Weatherfield for a fresh start in Germany, where Stu Carpenter had offered him a job as a trainee chef.
The teen’s decision to leave was solidified when he helped the police to gather evidence linking his brothers Matty and Logan to the death of DS Lisa Swain’s wife Becky.
Related: Coronation Street‘s Eileen Grimshaw star to leave soap after 25 years
Knowing that his siblings would take their revenge, Mason realised that he was safer out of the country.
Sadly, Monday’s episode saw Matty and Logan get released from police custody before Mason could make his escape.
The pair of thugs cornered Mason in the Weatherfield Precinct and subjected him to a brutal beating.
Mason’s former schoolmate Dylan Wilson stepped in and tried to scare off Matty and Logan with the zombie knife that he’d purchased last year.
Related: Coronation Street releases new promo for Mason’s dark storyline
Dylan’s intervention only served to inflame the situation further, as Matty and Logan quickly grabbed the knife and Mason was stabbed amid the chaos.
Although Mason received emergency treatment from paramedics at the scene and was rushed to hospital, he later died from his injury.
Future episodes will explore the impact of Mason’s death on the local community, with serious consequences for Dylan as his knife was used in the attack.
Last month, Dylan revealed that he’d started carrying the weapon out of fear after Mason’s previous bullying and threats.
Related: Coronation Street reveals dark Mason story in 28 new spoiler pictures
Mason pointed out the dangers of possessing a knife and urged Dylan to get rid of it now that they’d made peace, but Dylan ignored the advice.
Luca Toolan joined the cast of Coronation Street in late 2023, when Mason was introduced as Liam Connor’s bully. In recent months, the show had explored a redemption story for the villainous character.
Speaking recently about the knife crime story, Luca commented: “It’s so important. I’ve always enjoyed Coronation Street as a viewer, but I completely underestimated the power that it has on its audience until I was involved in the bullying storyline and saw the effect that it has on the viewers.
“Fingers crossed this storyline will be received the way we are hoping it will be and ultimately, if one person drops a knife and someone is saved, then that would definitely make it all worth it.”
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
The Ben Kinsella Trust, which works to tackle knife crime through education and campaigning, has resources available online for young people, parents, carers, teachers and practitioners.
