The police are onto him…

By Laura Denby

Published: Wednesday, 04 October 2023 at 20:00 PM


Coronation Street paved the way for serial killer Stephen Reid’s (Todd Boyce) downfall tonight (4th October), as suspicions grew over his behaviour. But we fear that Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) is about to be his next victim!

Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) decided to join Stephen in making a permanent move to Thailand – oblivious to the fact that this is actually his escape plan. Meanwhile, Carla Barlow (Alison King) chased up her results, having sent off a hair sample to find out if she was drugged with LSD.

Opening the letter with husband Peter (Chris Gascoyne) by her side, Carla learned that she had indeed been dosed up with the drug, and Peter apologised for not believing her.

Unaware that he was so close to being rumbled, Stephen was thrilled when Jenny confirmed that she wanted to move abroad. Stephen headed back to work at the factory, while Carla suspected the late Rufus Donahue (Steve Meo) of drugging her until she clocked that the dates didn’t add up.

When Michael Bailey (Ryan Russell) made her a cup of tea, Carla was unimpressed with his efforts, and Michael explained that usually, Stephen or Sarah Barlow (Tina O’Brien) made her drinks.

The penny dropped for Carla, who confronted Stephen over what he had done to her in order to take over Underworld.

 

Carla presented her results and showed them to Sarah, who was uneasy – although she stood up for her uncle Stephen. Stephen, of course, denied any part in it, going as far as swearing on mum Audrey Roberts’s (Sue Nicholls) life!

But Carla vowed to prove his guilt and warned Sarah to watch her back, as who knew what he was capable of? Sarah later reminded Stephen that he needed to pay Audrey back, which he couldn’t do if Carla sacked him.

Carla wondered if Stephen had something to do with Rufus’s death, and she headed to the police station, where DS Swain (Vicky Myers) claimed she needed more evidence. Stephen bumped into Carla, as he accompanied Jenny to the station for an update on Leo’s murder case.

On her way out, Carla raged at Stephen and stormed away, but Swain later paid Carla a visit and explained that she must keep quiet and avoid Stephen, as he needed to be clueless that they were onto him.

Stephen lurked nearby, but the plot twist came when Tim and his newly-returned mum, Stephen’s ex Elaine Jones (Paula Wilcox), walked by, and Tim’s phone rang.

Recognising the ring tone, Stephen’s mind drifted back to hearing it at the canal, where he had visited the site of another of his victims. With Stephen now aware that Tim had seen him, is Tim’s life on the line?

Coronation Street airs the final chapter of Stephen’s story from Monday 9th October on ITV.

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