Three explosive ITV Coronation Street theories: TWO surprise returns and villainous newcomer exposed
Could Bethany Platt's return bring another villain back to the cobbles?
JOEL Deering has a lot of explaining to do this week as Dee-Dee Bailey finds out what he’s been hiding from her.
Meanwhile, Coronation Street fans are preparing themselves for a huge return – but they also rumbled a surprise comeback ahead.
1. New crime family
Dee-Dee Bailey (portrayed by Channique Sterling-Brown) has had a lot on her plate in recent scenes of the ITV soap.
After her father admitted his gambling addiction had made a comeback, Dee-Dee was horrified when the builder’s yard caught fire.
To make matters worse, her mother Aggie – who has been missing from the cobbles for weeks as she remains in Birmingham where she is caring for a relative – decided to end her marriage with Ed in a dramatic twist.
And while he tries to move on, Ed has been approached by devious Damon Hay who got involved in his insurance claim.
But throughout all these obstacles, Dee-Dee has been able to rely on her boyfriend, Joel Deering (Calum Lill), who was first introduced to viewers in 2023.
Unfortunately, every newcomer has a secret they’d rather keep under wraps and Joel will prove that he is no exception.
Coming up, as Joel leaves a loved up Dee-Dee’s flat, a receipt falls from his wallet.
Dee-Dee sees it’s from a jeweller’s, dated in December and Joel clearly spent a lot of money.
Joel calls at the solicitors to find Dee-Dee, Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson) and Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) discussing the receipt.
When Joel makes out he bought himself some cufflinks, Alya jokes about his expensive taste.
As Alya later heads out she spots Joel in a car being driven by a sullen-looking woman.
Alya watches, her suspicions mounting – but what is going on with Joel?
In recent scenes of the Manchester-based program, Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) caught Joel in the presence of another woman in the Bistro and became immediately curious.
But it seems like Alya is more determined than she is to crack the case.
In later scenes, Alya steals herself before showing Dee-dee the CCTV footage from the Bistro.
Dee-Dee confronts Joel, hellbent on getting the truth out of him.
She is horrified when Joel admits that he has a wife, Emily, a daughter, Maisie.
To top it all off, the duty solicitor explains that his wife threw him out when she was pregnant because he had an affair.
Speaking about the storyline, actor Calum Lill explained that Joel’s family background may bring an explanation for his deceptive ways.
During a chat with press, the soap star seemed to tease his on-screen parents’ impending arrival in the cobbles.
“It’s kind of the the middle child of a middle class family. And he’s probably navigating that and trying to be good enough. I’m looking forward to [seeing that] play out and see[ing] how that unfolds”, he said.
Due to this, one could speculate that Joel is part of a crime family in Weatherfield and has been crumbling under the pressure of sticking to family norms.
Could there be truth to the theory?
2. Urgent return
In recent weeks, Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) has refused to believe that his son Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne) is involved in Liam Connor’s (Charlie Wrenshall) bullying ordeal.
This was despite Dylan’s clear bond with Liam’s bully, Mason Radcliffe (Luca Toolan), who was introduced to viewers of the Manchester-based program last year.
Unfortunately, Sean gets a nasty shock this week and he’s forced to admit he was wrong.
It all starts when Mason goads Gary Windass (Mikey North), telling him that Liam needs to watch his back.
As he realises that his stepson has been relentlessly bullied by Mason, Gary sees red and throws him to the ground.
Mason is clearly in danger as Gary is known to not shy away from murder if the situation requires it, as he proved when loan shark Rick Neelan was preying on Weatherfield residents.
Sean spots the scene and quickly rushes over to separate them.
He threatens to report Gary to the police but also remains determined to clear his own son Dylan’s name.
Sean thus demands that Dylan hands over his phone but as he scrolls through the youngster’s messages, a look of horror appears on his face.
In other scenes, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley), Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) and Mary Taylor (Patti Clare) make a fuss of Dylan on his birthday, but Sean can barely look at him following his discovery.
Dylan feels awful as he unwraps a watch to see that Sean has had it engraved.
This prompts Eileen to urge Sean to sit down and talk to Dylan properly.
But what if Sean went the extra mile to help Dylan?
Actress Jenny Platt has reprised her Corrie role in upcoming scenes.
Diehard fans of the long-running show will remember that Jenny portrayed Dylan’s mother Violet Wilson from 2004 to 2011.
Could Sean call Violet to help set Dylan back on to the straight and narrow?
Will Dylan leave the cobbles as a result of his poor behaviour?
3. Forgotten villain comes back
Elsewhere in Weatherfield, Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) becomes a growing cause for concern, particularly after her “ex” knocked on her door last week, leaving her seemingly scared.
In other recent scenes, Lauren caught the eye of newcomer Bobby Crawford (Jack Carroll) as he has developed romantic feelings towards her.
Unfortunately for Lauren, her finances have been one of her biggest woes in the Street.
Desperate to make ends meet as her shifts in Roy Cropper’s café are not enough for the lifestyle she wishes to have, Lauren turned to O-Vidz, much like Ryan Connor did before her.
Sadly, this could cause her more issues as Lauren is underage and things are going from bad to worse for her this week.
Bobby tells Lauren he knows about her O-Vidz videos and he’s worried about her but she clams up, leaving him frustrated.
In other scenes, Lauren admits to Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) that she’s skint and wonders if she’d write up her story.
The teen explains she’d like to talk about how she was brainwashed by a far-right group and sell it to a magazine.
Later on, Bobby calls at the café looking for Lauren and is put out to hear Roy (David Neilson) has sacked her.
Roy then calls at Lauren’s flat with her wages and she thanks him for his kindness before telling him she plans to leave Weatherfield to start afresh.
Later on, Bobby arrives at Lauren’s and finding the door unlocked, lets himself in.
With no sign of Lauren, Bobby sends her a text and heads out, locking the door behind him.
Bobby shares his concerns about Lauren with Max, telling him how he found her flat door unlocked, but no sign of her.
What will Max do?
Meanwhile, Bethany tells Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) about the far-right article and shows him a threatening message she’s received from one of Lauren’s old contacts.
Although some may speculate that Lauren may be in trouble and back in the grasp of Griff Reynolds’ far-right group, another theory about her has circulated on social media.
Many fans are suspecting that Lauren, much like Bethany Platt before her, is involved with former villain and rapist Nathan Curtis.
Fans will remember that Nathan was Bethany’s exploitative fiancé and it was revealed he was part of a gang grooming girls in order for them to be pimped.
Although Nathan hasn’t been seen since 2017, after he was handed a custodial sentence, viewers believe he may have managed to get out of prison to start his schemes again.
“Am I deluded in being convinced that Lauren’s ex is Nathan Curtis? idk how long he’s meant to be inside for but his possible return could tie in with whatever huge story Bobby and Bethany are involved in too?”, one fan speculated on X.
Another backed this theory: “This is deffo what I’m guessing”, as a third fan jumped in: “THIS IS A SOLIDDDDD POINT.”
“It would make a lot of sense considering the headlines saying it was going to be a grooming storyline and they definitely timed it well with Bethany’s return”, one watcher concluded.
Could Nathan make a surprise comeback to torment Bethany and Lauren?