Coronation Street ‘foreshadowed’ Joel would kill Lauren in eerie scene last year

Coronation Street appeared to let slip Joel Deering’s secret link to Lauren Bolton in a cryptic scene that aired eight months before he killed her.

Joel was identified as Lauren’s killer on Thursday night, as a flashback showed the moment he brutally attacked her with a wooden chair leg. He may have been rumbled by youngster Hope Stape, who found missing Lauren’s necklace in Joel’s car as she cleaned it.

In a sinister scene we saw Joel looking panicked over this, before the flashback played out of the moment he attacked Lauren in her flat in February. She’s been missing since, with Roy Cropper charged with her murder.

Amid Roy’s release with Nathan Curtis now in the frame, fans finally found out Joel was behind it all. But some eagle-eyed viewers recalled a scene that aired eight months earlier that may have teased the grim scenes ahead.

Not only that but it revealed a link between the characters that was no doubt forgotten about. While we have not seen Joel and Lauren together, and only minor clues teased he was the mystery man harassing her earlier this year, a scene last September may have been a major giveaway.

An eerie comment made by Joel to Lauren in the moment may also have hinted at her fate all these months on. In the scene, Lauren had been questioned at the police station over criminal damage, and this was the moment Joel made his debut.

As Lauren was released with a caution, Joel headed out into the reception of the station with Lauren who appeared nervous. Roy was waiting for her alongside Dee-Dee Bailey, who would later became Joel’s partner.

Joel was introduced as a lawyer in this scene and as he appeared with Lauren, he turned to her and told her: “Look after yourself Lauren.” At some point before this or maybe even shortly after this, Joel would have started grooming Lauren and the rest is history.

Just five months after this meeting, Lauren had vanished and Joel was acting oddly. Now three months on from her vanishing act, Joel has been revealed as her killer, while no one knows about their link as of yet.

Joel telling Lauren to look after herself just months before seemingly killing her, not to mention their clear link, has left viewers stunned. Some suggested it was a foreshadowing early on of what Corrie was planning for the characters.

Sharing the video of the scene on X, a fan posted: “Thanks to the kind souls who reminded me of Joel’s introductory scene from September last year. Here it is. Ooooo the foreshadowing!!” Another fan agreed: “It was right there and we all missed it.”