Joel takes extreme measures to cover his tracks in Coronation Street – but the walls are closing in
It can only be a matter of time before sinister Joel Deering’s (Calum Lill) abuse of Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) is revealed, as Betsy Swain (Sydney Martin) swooped in and threatened to reveal all.
Just days after crushing labour-inducing pills into Lauren’s soup, causing her to give birth to their son at 24 weeks into gestation, he charged into the maternity ward and demanded she delete an email she planned to send to DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) that would incriminate him.
After his comments about trusting him proved fruitful, she agreed to get rid of the evidence but later, Lisa asked if she would consider allowing her baby to have a DNA test.
This would prove that innocent Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper) was the one who was responsible for her turmoil, so she had to quickly cover.
Lisa accepted her story, though approached Joel and Dee-Dee (Channique Sterling-Brown), knowing that they had been supporting Lauren, and wondered if they were able to gently encourage her to proceed with the test.
After agreeing to help out, he watched the detective from afar – and was alarmed to see that Betsy, another girl he has been meeting in secret, was her daughter!
In tonight’s episode, he was spying through the youngster’s SendPX account when Dee-Dee strolled in and stole his phone out of his hand. Luckily for him, the screen locked and she saw nothing.
Heading to the hospital, he demanded Lauren tell him what she told DS Swain regarding the DNA test, though she was reluctant. Leaning over her bed, he threatened her and she ordered him to leave.
Later, Betsy charged over to Joel and Dee-Dee in the street, and the colour drained from his face.
Was this about to be the moment his beloved fiancée found out?
Alas, no, as she assumed that Betsy was one of his clients and walked off.
Branding Joel a ‘dirty little perv’, he saw red and ordered her to the ginnel behind Shuttleworth’s funeral parlour and pushed her against the wall.
She asked for £1,000 or she’d spill everything, but he threatened her with legal action – something which he knew her mum would disapprove of.
Back at the corner shop flat, Dee-Dee quizzed Joel on Betsy’s identity, and suggested that she perhaps had a crush on him. Joel looked evidently nervous over her questions, and tried to brush off her claims by mentioning that he’d booked a holiday to Mauritius for them both.
Realising that his phone is full of texts between him and Betsy, he rushed down the road, removed the simcard and placed it in the Rovers’ cigarette bin.
Surely someone has to expose the truth soon?