Coronation Street enthusiasts were left stunned after discovering why David Platt refers to his mother by her first name, Gail.
Gail (played by Helen Worth) and David (portrayed by Jack P. Shepherd) have had a tumultuous relationship over the years, marked by heated arguments and even an incident where David pushed Gail down the stairs.
However, last year saw Gail bid farewell to the cobbles after 50 years, with her departure airing on Christmas Day. After tying the knot for the seventh time with Jesse Chadwick (John Thompson), the couple embarked on a new life in France.
Before her departure, Gail shared heartfelt goodbyes with her children Nick (Ben Price), Sarah (Tina O'Brien), and David, as well as her mother Audrey (Sue Nicholls).
In the year since her exit, Gail has kept in touch with her family. Just last month, David discovered he was expecting his first child with wife Shona (Julia Goulding), marking Gail's sixth grandchild, reports the Mirror.
Moreover, this Christmas Day will see Gail make a brief return via a video message sent to the Platts on David's birthday.
Soap opera aficionados may recall that David has always addressed his mother as Gail, a fact that has often perplexed viewers. Fans on social media speculate that the 'reason' is linked to Gail's past consideration of aborting David - a fact he later discovered.
One viewer pondered: "I think it goes back to when he found out that Gail considered aborting him."
Another said: "He has called her Gail for years and years - ever since he discovered that she tried to abort him. Now THAT'S disrespectful."
Jack, who portrays David, has also previously shed light on this. During a Q&A on X, formerly known as Twitter, Jack was asked: "Why do you call your mum Gail?" He responded: "David calls Gail 'Gail' when he doesn't respect her."
Reflecting on his role as a Platt on the ITV soap, Jack previously remarked: "There's a lot of us. And you can look at the kids now, and there's three, so, there's mine, Nick's and Sarah's replacements.
"I've got Lily – so, Sarah. Nick's got himself, weirdly, in Sam, and Sarah's got me – Harry."
We all get on, we all have a laugh, we do a little bit of work – just a tiny bit. And then we go home."