Violent Coronation Street villain to return – despite being dead

Joel Deering is making a grand comeback to the cobbles – despite being dead (Picture: ITV)

Coronation Street villain Joel Deering is set to return to the ITV soap.

The character, played by Calum Lill, was killed off after a scuffle with Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) in September.

She and Max Turner (Paddy Bever) then pushed his body off a viaduct and into the water below, where it was later found by some youths.

After speculation over who could be responsible, a special episode revealed the truth.

Max took responsibility, though Lauren’s guilt became too much to bear and she headed to the police station to admit whacking Joel with a crowbar.

Now, actor Calum has been back in front of the camera filming scenes for what Metro understands to be a singular episode.

His killing came at the conclusion of a year-long storyline that followed his abusive and manipulating behaviour towards Lauren, and her resulting disappearance.

It transpired that she was so fearful of his actions that she fled the area and allowed her nearest and dearest to believe she was dead. Poor Roy Cropper (David Neilson) even spent time in jail for her murder.

Lauren murdered Joel with a crowbar (Picture: ITV) A number of suspects were lined up, but Lauren later confessed (Picture: ITV)

Despite Joel being buried, he continues to haunt Lauren and his ex-fiancée Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown), who found out she was pregnant with his baby in the wake of his death.

In the months following his grand finale, the star reprised the part for flashbacks and ghostly dream sequences, joining a long line of former Weatherfield residents who have returned in this manner over the last year.

With Dee-Dee recently giving birth to Joel’s daughter Laila, and with Lauren’s son Frankie (who he fathered) undergoing a life-saving bone marrow transplant, it’s likely that one of the women will be haunted by his presence.

‘Calum has been back filming and viewers will be seeing him on screen again soon’ a source told The Sun.

‘He might be dead but there is lots more to say about that murder and he is likely to be involved in some flashback scenes.’

After his then-final episode aired, Coronation Street’s social accounts posted a farewell message from the actor, who broke down in tears as he discussed his time on the show. 

Actor Calum Lill is reprising the part for one episode (Picture: ITV/Danielle Baguley/REX/Shutterstock) It’s likely that he’ll appear in a flashback or dream sequence (Picture: ITV/Danielle Baguley/REX/Shutterstock)

He said: ‘I’ve just had the best time here with everyone. I just feel so grateful to have been trusted with a huge story and such a serious story. 

‘We worked with the Maggie Oliver Foundation since the beginning to make sure we portrayed something that was truthful and could potentially be helpful to anyone who is experiencing something similar. So thank you to the Maggie Oliver Foundation and thank you to everyone here for trusting me with it.

‘For me when I found out I had this part, it was like Harry Potter getting his letter to Hogwarts,’ he continued as his voice started to crack.

‘It’s the most magical place and I just want to say thank you to the friends I’ve made. 

‘The people here are so special. And in every department, they’re just so great and I’m going to miss them terribly. But I’m so happy that I got to experience it. So thank you. And I can’t wait to watch you all on screen from home and watch your careers. 

‘It’s been amazing. So thank you.’

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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