Coronation Street fans are convinced they’ve worked out a huge romance storyline for Amy Barlow with Ollie Driscoll but it’s going to end in heartbreak
Coronation Street fans are convinced they’ve worked out a huge romance storyline for Amy Barlow with Ollie Driscoll but it’s going to end in heartbreak
Dan Laurie Deputy Editor of Screen Time
13:17, 26 Feb 2026Updated 13:21, 26 Feb 2026
ITV Coronation Street viewers reckon they’ve sussed out a major romance storyline for Amy Barlow but believe it’s destined to end in tears.
It’s been revealed that Amy’s (Ellie Mulvaney) grandfather Jim McDonald (Charlie Lawson) tragically dies in forthcoming episodes of the soap, leaving her father Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and the rest of the family devastated.
In a startling development, Steve is reportedly about to discover that his dad was unfaithful to his mum Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) with new Rovers Return landlady Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn), resulting in the birth of her son Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker).
The Driscoll family arrived in Weatherfield last October after Ben purchased the pub as a surprise for partner Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) with financial backing from his mother.
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The publican is under the impression that Alan Driscoll, who has never appeared and viewers know was murdered by Maggie, is his father, though it will reportedly emerge in coming weeks that Maggie conducted an affair with Jim decades earlier, leading to Ben’s birth, reports the Daily Star.
Steve has been growing closer to new mate Ben, who is the father of Ollie (Raphael Akuwudike) and Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale), in recent episodes so the revelation is poised to rock the cobbles.
During Thursday’s (February 26) instalment, which can be streamed on ITVX, Steve was shown waking up with a hangover in the backroom of the Rovers and chef Ollie volunteered to prepare him a cooked breakfast. Steve’s daughter turned up expecting her father to be ready for their previously arranged shopping trip, but the taxi driver insisted on finishing his fry up before heading out.
Later in the episode, Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) appeared to end things with Ollie following a brief fling, and he wasted no time engaging in a flirtatious exchange with Amy when she popped into the pub for a drink.
However, Amy is Steve’s daughter and Ollie is Ben’s son, meaning the two are half-cousins, and their budding romance could spark some “awkward” conversations once the truth eventually comes to light.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan wrote: “Amy seems interested in Ollie that could be awkward. #corrie.”
Another social media user responded: “Yeah seeing as Amy and Ollie are now half-cousins. #CoronationStreet #Corrie @itvcorrie.”
A third viewer commented: “Maggie wanted to keep Ollie so far away from Lauren, let’s see what she says of the potential Ollie and Amy pairing given the recent twist about Steve’s dad being Ben’s dad.”
Fans will have to wait and see whether romance blossoms between the two before they discover that their fathers are half-brothers.
Coronation Street airs weeknights on ITV1 at 8.30pm and available to stream from 7am on ITVX
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