Jacob Roberts as Kit Green in Coronation Street / © ITV
Coronation Street‘s resident copper Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) will battle breast cancer in a surprise new storyline, it has been announced.
In the plot, which begins in September, the Winter family learn that they may be carrying the familial BRCA gene following the passing of Celeste (Frances Barber), the estranged aunt of Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove).
Bernie and Gemma (Dolly-Rose Campbell) begin testing, unaware that Kit has already started his own medical investigation after feeling unwell of late.
Soon Kit is left stunned to learn that he has stage-three breast cancer – a diagnosis received by 500 men in the UK every year – with the ensuing storyline following him “from diagnosis, to denial, to treatment and family relationships as he struggles to deal with the life changing news and what it means for him as a man”.
“I genuinely didn’t know that men could get breast cancer and I felt, to make it authentic, that Kit shouldn’t know that men can get breast cancer either,” said Roberts, who has now been on the cobbles for more than two years.
“Speaking to the charities and male survivors has been really insightful – lots of men don’t know they can get this and for Kit it’s that utter disbelief of ‘how can this be?’ Not only for his age, but ‘how can I have this as a bloke and who else in the family could be affected?'”
Corrie producer Kate Brooks added: “This diagnosis absolutely shakes the foundations of Kit’s life as he struggles to digest what this means not only for him, but also for his family and loved ones.
“Kit’s a complex character, and he struggles as he navigates this new world he’s been thrust into. His vulnerabilities become all too apparent as he wrestles with what this means to his sense of identity.
“Whilst male breast cancer is rare, it’s important that we show it can happen to anyone. We must normalise conversations around this to encourage people to consult their GP at the earliest opportunity if any changes arise.”
Watch a promo video for the new storyline below:
