Coronation Street and Hollyoaks will change lives with stoma storylines

Two beloved soap characters recently began living with a stoma, with Coronation Street and Hollyoaks running key storylines at the same time.

It’s a step that has the potential to make a life-changing impact. 

A first for both long-running continuing dramas, they have the chance to educate the public, many who may be unaware of what a stoma actually is. 

A stoma is a surgical opening on the surface of the abdomen which diverts the flow of faeces or urine. The kind of stoma featured in both soaps is a colostomy, which is an opening from the colon. 

Hollyoaks icon Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) is undergoing treatment for bowel cancer, and now has a stoma bag. 

Meanwhile, Coronation Street’s much-loved Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) underwent a cosmetic procedure in Turkey, but complications led to lifesaving surgery and a permanent stoma. 

These two characters are worlds apart in their journeys. Mercedes has had time to come to terms with her stoma, while Bethany is struggling to cope with the idea.

It’s vital that we see both experiences, with the goal ultimately being for Bethany to find strength and acceptance. 

Bowel Cancer UK is advising Hollyoaks on Mercedes’ journey to highlight how early diagnosis can save lives; while Corrie is working with Colostomy UK to accurately portray Bethany living with a stoma. 

Giovanni Cinque, Marketing & Campaigns Manager at Colostomy UK, told Metro ‘It’s a major breakthrough that two massive TV Soaps are featuring characters with stomas,’ and I couldn’t agree more.

As a sufferer of Crohn’s Disease, an inflammatory bowel condition, I have undergone surgery on my bowel and suffered from bowel incontinence. I do not have a stoma, but this may be a possibility one day. 

When I first learned about stomas, they were rarely discussed anywhere, and so the idea terrified me.

Today, increasing representation offers much-needed reassurance that should I ever need a stoma, it doesn’t have to limit what I can do – for some with bowel disease, a stoma can even improve quality of life, allowing more control over going to the toilet.

It isn’t the first time that serial drama has addressed the topic. In 2021, Holby City’s Dominic Copeland (David Ames) began living with a stoma, after emergency bowel surgery for injuries sustained in a car crash. 

Dominic eventually came to accept his colostomy bag, but Holby City sadly came to an end before the programme could show further exploration, which was a hugely missed opportunity to really shine a light on something so rarely talked about on mainstream TV. 

Now, Coronation Street will explore the impact of living with a stoma on a long-term basis. 

For Bethany, this will include concerns about intimacy. In an interview with Colostomy UK, star Lucy explained: ‘She’s embarrassed and worried about being intimate and actually, it’s made her feel even more insecure than she ever felt before she decided to get liposuction.’

Lucy referenced another worry for Bethany, which is ‘the challenge of being too scared to leave the house with the risk of your stoma bag leaking – which I know is a battle for many others.’

Someone with a stoma may not look like they have a disability, but they may require use of an accessible toilet in the event of their stoma bag leaking. 

Colostomy UK shared that, in its Stoma Aware Survey from 2023, 25% of people living with a stoma were worried about using an accessible toilet because they had been verbally or physically abused before.  

‘That’s over 50,000 people who are in danger of being socially excluded because of the attitude of others,’ Giovanni revealed. 

Coronation Street and Hollyoaks have the ability to promote a better understanding for the above issues, in a way that no other television genre can. Watching Bethany and Mercy tackle life with a stoma could be crucial, generating positivity along the way. 

Mercedes was devastated to learn that she has a secondary tumour on her liver. But the resilient, feisty woman found hope and empowerment as she was seen dancing with her colostomy bag on display. 

In keeping with the mantra instilled by Mercedes’ friends and family, ‘Show cancer no Mercy’, this was a deeply moving moment. It also offered a stark contrast to Bethany’s mindset, as she currently believes that her life is ruined now that she must live with a stoma.  

With support from Colostomy UK, Coronation Street will emphasise how Bethany can still achieve anything, from the amazing to the ordinary. 

Lucy discovered this when she delved into social media representation. ‘There are quite a lot of pages and people on TikTok who promote stoma positivity, which is great,’ she revealed. 

For those living with a stoma, and anyone who may have one in the future, this uplifting theme is hugely important.  

Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive at Bowel Cancer UK, shared with us that ‘Mercedes McQueen’s stoma storyline has gone down well with our community. 

‘We have heard from our supporters how much they appreciate seeing a depiction of living with a stoma that shows not just the challenges, but that it’s nothing to be ashamed of,’ she added. 

Genevieve also praised Hollyoaks ‘not only for tackling the stigma of stomas head on, but using such a popular and well-known character as Mercedes to do so.’

We should never underestimate the impact characters like Mercedes and Bethany can have through a storyline like this.

That’s the power of television – and the power of soap.