Leanne Battersby’s fate ‘sealed’ in cult story as Coronation Street confirms dastardly Rowan Cunliffe’s true motives

Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) recently became entangled in a sinister cult, and she has well and truly fallen under the spell of charming leader Rowan Cunliffe (Emrhys Cooper), as recent Coronation Street scenes revealed.

In tonight’s (April 26) episode, Rowan encouraged Leanne to try ‘uploading’ for the first time – a process which saw her relive some of her deepest traumas, including the death of son Oliver.

Believing that Rowan was truly trying to help her, Leanne opened up about her guilt surrounding Oliver’s death, explaining how she felt that it had been karma for all of her previous mistakes.

When Rowan urged her to dig deeper, she went on to open up about her experiences as a prostitute, believing that ‘uploading’ these memories would leave her open to a more positive mindset.

Once she had finished, she revealed that she had never opened up like that to anyone before, and it soon became clear just how much she had got off her chest when she mentioned setting fire to her restaurant.

Back in 2008, Leanne organised for her restaurant, Valandro’s, to be torched in order to claim the insurance money. Chef Paul Clayton ended up being the man for the job, though he was left horrified when he realised that Leanne had been using him.

Paul went to the police, hoping to implicate Leanne, but her partner in crime Dan Mason gave her an alibi, leaving her off the hook and Paul with no choice but to flee.

Following her ‘upload’, Leanne expressed how relieved she had felt to get everything off her chest, while Rowan applauded her for keeping a journal of her traumas.

When Leanne got up to get herself a glass of water, Rowan pulled out his phone, and it became clear that he had recorded the whole session.

With Leanne having confessed to being the mastermind behind the arson at Valandro’s, could Rowan be set to use this recording – and the diaries she has kept – against her?

Not only that, but he encouraged her to focus on herself, and not allow any time for other people’s traumas. This meant that when sister Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) later tried to confide in Leanne about her visit to Rose’s grave, Leanne shut her down.

Is Rowan also trying to isolate Leanne from her loved ones?