Grief and heartbreak await in Coronation Street for Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) as he receives terrible news that his dad, the legendary Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson) is dying…

Show bosses recently revealed that the infamous moustachioed Irish Badboy will be killed offscreen thirty-six years after his Cobbles debut. Now the sad goodbye is finally upon us, with devastating consequences for Steve.

One of the original ‘hard men’ of Corrie, Jim was known for his hot-headed temper, his close yet toxic relationship to his wife Liz McDonald (Beverly Callard) and sons Steve and Andy McDonald (Nicholas Cochrane), and his beloved catchphrase ‘so he is’

Despite his gruff disposition and bouts of rage, Jim always genuinely cared for Steve and did his best to keep his lad on the straight and narrow. Indeed, one of the Daddy McDonald’s most famous storylines was brutally beating Jez Quigley (Lee Boardman) to death after the ruthless drug dealer put Steve in hospital. This led to a lengthy prison sentence, but this was a minor setback, as Jim would go on to be in and out of jail more than he was the Rovers’ Return.

The troubled tough nut’s relationship with Steve was tested to breaking point when Jim fell from scaffolding during a heated row with his son. He was paralysed from the waist down, only exacerbating Jim’s bitterness and leading to a tragic suicide attempt.

Jim bounced back when he attempted an armed robbery in a desperate effort to make enough money to buy the Rovers for Liz.

Back to prison he went, but not for long. In what would go on to be one of Coronation Street’s most controversial and divisive storylines, he returned with a woman claiming to be the daughter of him and Liz, Katie, who died shortly after birth in 1992. In reality, this woman was Jim’s younger girlfriend Hannah, and the pair were scamming Liz for cash.

It’s fair to say that Jim and Steve have the kind of father/son dynamic that makes Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader look healthy.

Nevertheless, Jim is still Steve’s dad, and losing him is set to devastate the Weatherfield regular in upcoming scenes.

When Steve gets a call from Jim’s landlord, he bemoans to partner Cassie Plummer (Clare Sweeney) that the man is demanding £1800 is unpaid rent and his dad put him down as a guarantor. But after doing some digging, Steve makes a few calls and is rocked to learn from one of Jim’s old army pals that his dad is in Hospital… and he’s not expected to pull through.

When the news of Jim’s death was announced, actor Charles Lawson took to X to confirm that he harboured no ill will towards the Street, who informed him of their decision last September. However, in a separate post, he put the decision down cryptically to ‘politics’.