Coronation Street star reveals what happened with Joel Deering's murder weapon in brilliant exit move

Coronation Street star Calum Lill has got quite the eclectic mix of momentos to remember his time as Joel Deering. The actor actually left the soap more than two months ago but his final scenes officially aired on Friday night (November 15).

Weatherfield's biggest-ever whodunnit was seen coming to a dramatic end during the latest edition of the ITV soap as Joel Deering's killer was revealed - and it was a joint effort to off the dastardly solicitor between Max Turner and Lauren Bolton, although it was the latter who dealt the final blow.

As fans know, Joel arrived onto the cobbles in September 2023 as a charming solicitor who Dee-Dee Bailey soon fell head over heels in love with. But under his smooth exterior Joel was hiding a dark secret - a penchant for younger, underprivileged girls - including Lauren.

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But Joel's disappearance was revealed in September after he failed to show his face in court. In the scenes aired at the end of September, a warrant was issued for Joel's arrest as he was seemingly set to face his comeuppance for some of his twisted crimes, after he drugged Lauren which prompted the early labour of their son, Frankie.

But, after transferring money to Lauren and his ex-wife Emily, and leaving an emotional voicemail for his former fiancee Dee-Dee Bailey, Joel's car was found abandoned and it was believed Joel may have ended up taking his own life.

The police, however, carried on digging, and the investigation soon turned into solving Joel's murder after his body was found floating down a river before it was then confirmed he'd been killed with a heavy weapon before entering the water.

After several Weathefield residents were put in the frame, Joel's murderer was revealed in a stunning episode which featured a series of flashbacks from the night of Joel’s murder, interspersed with DC Kit Green's police interviews, bringing what really happened on September 27th.

It was an eventful night for Joel, after Ronnie and Ed Bailey went after him with a crowbar, he was attacked by scorned ex Dee-Dee, threatened by Kit and pushed into the river by Max. But not before Lauren had delivered the killer blow amidst the train track confrontation.

Speaking about who was responsible for his character's end - and whether he knew about it - Joel actor Calum told the Manchester Evening News: "I think at first, we were all really confused and trying to work out what was going on because you were getting snippets of this and snippets of that. I eventually found out maybe a couple of months before shooting it that it was going to be Lauren, but also that it was going to be so many twists and turns along the way.

"I was like: 'This is going to be good! If we're trying to piece it all together, hopefully the audience are going to get the same effect' - which seems to be that they're enjoying it and trying to piece it together."

He added: "When I found out it was Lauren, soap justice is definitely a thing and I think that's the best justice he could have got. He didn't deliberately try to kill her but he attacked her viciously and nearly killed her. For it to come full circle and for him to get his comeuppance from the person that he attacked, when she was vulnerable and defenceless, I think it's what he deserves."

Asked if he's taken anything with him to remember his time as Joe, Calum revealed: "I've got loads of his costume. His smart casual stuff is nicer than any of my smart stuff so I'm absolutely kitted out now! So I've got that and I've got the murder weapon at home. It's like a brick that would have been part of the bridge, so I've got the foam soft version. Not soft enough to be hit as hard as I was getting hit in the face repeatedly by Cait but softer than a brick nonetheless.

"Duncan the director was like: 'We can tell that you're being too gentle with him, go on, he's a big lad'. I was like: 'Cait, we've worked on this, this is the final, we've worked together for so long, sell this, this is the last bit, go for it'. She did! Luckily the next day of filming was just being dead on the train track, which was good because I needed a lie down! That's what I did for the next 12 hours."

And where is the brick now? It hasn't quite got a place just yet as Calum told us: "I've got a bag, when I left I had leaving presents and my card and my stuff. I'm doing up a room that I can put it in, so I've not unpacked it all yet. I've got all that stuff together."