Long-term Coronation Street character Toyah Battersby was briefly recast with a new actress in Thursday night’s episode.The character is usually played by Georgia Taylor, who joined the ITV soap in 1997. In the latest run of the ITV soap, Anya Williams stepped into the character’s shoes for a special scene with no warning to fans.After leaving the taxi office following a chat with Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson), Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) asked a ‘stranger’ for directions to the Rovers.The woman asked if Debbie was OK, which only caused Debbie to get stressed.Debbie shouts: ‘How do you know my name?’ before telling the woman not to touch her after she offered to take her to the pub. Long-term Coronation Street character Toyah Battersby was briefly recast with a new actress in Thursday night’s episode The character is usually played by Georgia Taylor, who joined the ITV soap in 1997As Debbie walks away, the camera angle changes to reveal that it was Toyah the whole time.The heartbreaking scene highlights Debbie’s worsening condition, as she’s even beginning to forget people she knows.Reacting to the scene, fans wrote on social media: ‘Debbie not recognising Toyah was cleverly done, very understated & another symptom that Debbie’s dementia is advancing,”The Toyah scene was well done. Great representation of dementia,”That scene with Debbie and ‘Toyah’ was really clever. The different actress playing Toyah represented Debbie not recognising Toyah because of her dementia. Something to think about, it must be scary for a dementia sufferer,”That toyah scene was confusing I guess that’s how it is for Debbie,”For a moment I thought they had recast toyah,”Powerful scene with Debbie not recognising Toyah and us seeing it from Debbie’s POV.’This isn’t the first time a soap has done this as Emmerdale cast a different actor as Aaron Dingle for several scenes where his neighbour Ashley Thomas struggled to remember him due to dementia. In the latest run of the ITV soap, Anya Williams stepped into the character’s shoes for a special scene with no warning to fans The heartbreaking scene highlights Debbie’s worsening condition with dementia, as she’s even beginning to forget people to knows It comes after it was revealed that bosses have decided to kill off Debbie (Sue Devaney) on the ITV soap.It comes after it was revealed that bosses have decided to kill off Debbie on the ITV soap.While the character has been diagnosed with dementia on-screen, bosses are planning to make the plot one of their longest-running ones ever with Sue expected to remain on screen until at least 2027.Last month Sue broke her silence on the axe at the National Television Awards.She expressed: ‘The thing with life is you end up thinking one thing and then it pulls you another way.’Despite not being in her sights to leave, Sue decided to take up the opportunity after the producer offered her the powerful storyline.She explained: ‘I had to think, ‘I’m an actor and I want to act’.’And this then became a perfect opportunity to really do that.’WHAT IS DEMENTIA? Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological disorders, that is, conditions affecting the brain.There are many different types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.Some people may have a combination of types of dementia.Regardless of which type is diagnosed, each person will experience their dementia in their own unique way.Dementia is a global concern but it is most often seen in wealthier countries, where people are likely to live into very old age.HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED?The Alzheimer’s Society reports there are more than 1million people living with dementia in the UK today, of which more than 500,000 have Alzheimer’s.It is estimated that the number of people living with dementia in the UK by 2040 will rise to more than 1.4million. As a person’s age increases, so does the risk of them developing dementia.Rates of diagnosis are improving but many people with dementia are thought to still be undiagnosed.IS THERE A CURE?Currently there is no cure for dementia. But new drugs can slow down its progression and the earlier it is spotted the more effective treatments are.Source: Alzheimer’s Society <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/tvshowbiz/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->