Who is Violet Wilson on Coronation Street?
Coronation Street spoilers follow.
This week sees the dramatic return to Coronation Street of Violet Wilson (Jenny Platt), who is back to look out for her teenage son Dylan. She left Weatherfield back in 2008 and was last seen on screen in 2011, so ahead of her latest stint on the cobbles, it might be useful to have a quick reminder of her previous time on the Street.
Who is Violet in Coronation Street?
Violet made her first appearance in Coronation Street in October 2004, as a barmaid in the Rovers and an old friend of Sean Tully. She had an on-off romance with Jason Grimshaw, followed by complicated relationships with Charlie Stubbs and Jamie Baldwin – the son of Danny and grandson of Mike.
Following these failed relationships, friends Violet and Sean got drunk and made a pact that if they were both single and without kids by the age of 30, they would have a child together. But this pact turned into reality quicker than expected, when Violet decided this was something they should do immediately.
Violet fell pregnant with their son in 2007, but there was drama during the pregnancy when Sean found out that Violet was planning on bringing up their baby without him and threatened to take legal action. The pair eventually resolved their differences, and in February 2008, Violet gave birth to baby Dylan – in the Rovers, no less.
Why did Violet leave Coronation Street?
While she was still pregnant, Violet got back with ex Jamie, and the pair made plans to move to London together just a few days after Dylan was born.
Violet proposed to Jamie and said she wanted his name on the birth certificate, not Sean's. While they tried desperately to keep Sean in the dark, he found out about their plans through Violet's sister and tried to stop them from leaving.
But Violet and Jamie made a hasty exit, with baby Dylan in tow, leaving Sean devastated. He later phoned Violet, but she threw her phone out the car window, cutting all ties and preparing to make a fresh start in London.
A couple of years later though, Sean got in touch, and he was eventually granted access to see Dylan. Violet appeared in Corrie once more in 2011, in a special Easter episode that saw Sean visit her and Dylan in London just as she had split up from Jamie.
Since then, Violet has often been mentioned on screen, particularly when Sean has organised visits to see Dylan, but she hasn't returned until now. Dylan, on the other hand, returned to the show for several months in 2020 to stay with his dad, before making a permanent move to Weatherfield in 2022.
Why is Violet back in Coronation Street?
Violet's big return coincides with the current bullying storyline that her now-teenage son Dylan is involved in. Over the past few months, Dylan has followed the lead of Mason Radcliffe in making Liam Connor's life a misery – a revelation that left dad Sean shocked.
The consequences of the horrific bullying are currently unfolding for Dylan, who was stitched up by Mason and caught by the police with a zombie knife in his bag, later being charged for the offence.
This week, as Dylan's court hearing looms, Eileen pointed out that Violet had a right to know about the situation. However, the teen claimed that he had already spoken to her, and that she was unable to attend court as she was in Ibiza.
In tonight's episode (March 20), Dylan has his day in court, but later returns home with Sean to find his mum with Eileen – who had called Violet and discovered she had no idea what had happened.
In February, a Coronation Street statement confirmed why Violet had returned, explaining: "In the coming months, Dylan will be facing the serious repercussions of his actions and will be needing the support of both his parents."
Violet is only going to be making a short-term visit to Weatherfield, but actress Jenny Platt has hopes that this won't be the last we see of her on the show.
She said: "I've never felt like, 'Oh, yeah, that's it. I want to put that character to bed.' I loved my time on Coronation Street, and I've always found Violet really lovely to play. She's got heart, and she's warm, but she's made a lot of mistakes, so I always feel like she's one of us."
"And, of course, I'd love to see what she could get up to if Dylan was getting into more trouble – and especially that idea of co-parenting with a non-romantic partner I find a really interesting one, and one that would be great to develop on screen," she added.
Antony Cotton, who plays Sean, recently echoed this sentiment, and revealed that there could be a long-term future for Violet.
"We film [with Jenny] for four weeks, she's probably in a dozen episodes and then, who knows? This storyline is going to go on, so as long as it goes well and she enjoys it, then I'm hoping we might see her again," he said.
"If there's more of this stuff and it gets more serious, one would imagine that we would perhaps see Violet again."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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