Coronation Street producer Iain McLeod has confirmed Bethany Platt’s (Lucy Fallon) involvement in the disappearance of troubled teen Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton).
The story kicked off at the end of February when Roy Cropper (David Neilson) fired Lauren from her job at his café after Bethany accused her of stealing £5 from her purse.
She later told her former boss that she planned on leaving Weatherfield forever, and within hours had vanished into thin air.
When best mate Bobby Crawford (Jack Carroll) called round to check on her, he found the door unlocked, the radio playing and a warm bacon sandwich on the coffee table – but no Lauren.
In a bid to find her, he has launched an appeal and has began investigating the O-Vidz account that she had been uploading nude photos to in order to pay her energy bills.
A mystery ex-boyfriend had also been plaguing Lauren with phone calls for weeks – with his identity still unknown to viewers.
Amongst much speculation online as to who he might be, we’ve played supersleuth and dug out a quote from Corrie boss Iain McLeod from earlier this year, when he teased upcoming storylines: ‘Much like Bobby, Jack Carroll’s character, [Bethany] will also find herself in the centre of this huge story that we’ve got next year.’
‘So, she’s coming back with this clear romantic purpose in the Daniel story but then will fairly quickly find herself in the midst of this massive story that’s going to span most of next year…’
The ‘biggest story of the year’ that he teased was of course, Lauren’s disappearance.
But how is Bethany brought into play?
We know that her boyfriend Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) is going to become one of the main suspects after concerns from Max Turner (Paddy Bever) over their relationship.
Daniel, who has a history of using the services of sex workers, had been tutoring Lauren for her upcoming English exams.
Perhaps there’s something more sinister going on – could Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper), Bethany’s evil ex-fiancé who pimped her out for sex be responsible?
He was sent down in 2017 for orchestrating a grooming gang, but it’s possible that he’s served his time and has returned to his old tricks.
Upcoming scenes will see innocent Roy implemented for her ‘murder’ after accidentally disposing of evidence whilst cleaning her precinct flat.
He’ll also be targeted by two heavies that corner him in the café after hours – will Roy be okay?
