Corrie Deirdre Barlow’s shock return ‘sealed’ – but fans warn they’ll ‘stop watching’

Corrie viewers are certain Deirdre Barlow might be making a comeback to screens – but they are not too keen.

The Weatherfield legend, portrayed by Anne Kirkbride, first graced our screens in 1972. Known for her distinctive voice and oversized specs, Deirdre became a beloved fixture in British living rooms.

Her rollercoaster life included a fling with a younger man, tying the knot with Ken Barlow (played by William Roache) not once but twice, and coping with her killer kid Tracy (acted out by Kate Ford), giving viewers a mix of drama and entertainment over the years.

Deirdre was last spotted on the show on 8th October 2014 before Anne Kirkbride took a leave of absence. Tragically, in January 2015, Anne passed away following a battle with breast cancer.

Deirdre’s off-screen death from a brain aneurysm happened the same year while she was at her mate Bev Unwin’s place.

Now, there’s chatter about Deirdre popping up again amidst the chilling cult plotline that’s got Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) in its grips. This year, Leanne got lured into the dodgy “self-help” gang run by the creepy Rowan (Emrhys Cooper).

Then it turned out Leanne was chatting to an AI digital version of her late son, Oliver, whipped up by The Institute. Lately, Leanne’s been getting Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) involved with the group, and the young’un seems quite taken by it all.

In the latest episode, aired on July 20, Amy was shown a computer-generated version of her half-brother by Leanne, which left her utterly horrified and storming off.

Now, the Corrie watchers are buzzing with speculation that an AI version of Amy’s gran, Deirdre, might be on the cards, and let’s just say they’re not chuffed about it.

Reddit has been ablaze with comments, with one user posting: “As soon as they mentioned Deirdre, I was like please god no, not an AI Deirdre! “.

Another fan was absolutely livid, saying: “That’s the point I would stop watching. Anne Kirkbride died long before actors could sign up for the technology.” A third fan predicted a meltdown for Amy, stating: “I swear if they show Amy AI Deirdre I think that might actually tip Amy over the edge she’s already freaked by Oliver.”

Over on Twitter, the reactions were just as strong, with tweets flying in like: “WTF the AI kid is back. They best not AI Deirdre.” Others chimed in with: “I thought we was about to get AI Deirdre.”

And the conversation kept going with replies like: “Perhaps we still will…..” and “I think we will if Amy gets deeper into the stuff.”