Eagle-eyed Coronation Street fans work out where they’ve seen prison guard Mandy before

Coronation Street viewers were left stunned after discovering the identity of the actress who plays prison guard Mandy in the popular soap.

Recently, Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis) made a surprising comeback to the cobbles, eight years after his last appearance.

Fans will remember that Rob is serving time for the murder of Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) back in 2014.

However, when Rob’s sister Carla Connor (Alison King) needed a kidney transplant, his son Bobby (Jack Carroll) decided to intervene. He visited Rob last week to disclose everything and although Rob initially refused, he later had a change of heart.

In Monday’s episode (January 13), Bobby returned to the prison to convince Rob to get tested as a potential donor.

Marc Baylis made a surprising return to Coronation Street(Image: ITV)

The plot took a dramatic twist when fellow inmate Matty (Seamus McGoff) brandished a knife and seized prison guard Mandy. Viewers will remember that Matty is incarcerated for stabbing and killing his own brother Mason (Luca Toolan) the previous week.

The thug threatened to murder prison guard Mandy – and when Rob intervened – Matty redirected his threats towards Bobby, warning him of his impending death. Both Mandy and Rob did their best to calm Matty, and as the situation escalated, Rob pinned him against the wall, with prison staff rushing in to stop the rampage.

While the gripping prison scenes had viewers on the edge of their seats, some eagle-eyed fans were quick to recognise the actor playing Mandy. Over on Twitter, they identified her as Rebecca Atkinson, famous for her role as Karen Maguire in Channel 4’s hit series Shameless from 2004 to 2013.

Rebecca starred as Karen in the Channel 4 series Shameless(Image: Channel 4)

One fan exclaimed on Twitter: “It’s karen maguire from shameless!” Another joined in, commenting: “I was going crazy trying to remember where i knew her from!!” Another added: “I recognised the prison officer/guard straight away. Loved her when she played Karen in Shameless.”

Meanwhile, a different viewer was certain of her identity: “I’ve been staring at this since we got the spoilers and convinced it was!”

Rebecca became part of the BAFTA-winning Shameless ensemble at the age of 19, taking part in some of the show’s risque storylines as she got older. Her character was central to numerous major plots, including steamy affairs and managing the notorious Jockey pub.