Coronation Street expert confirms Joel Deering survival theory after fans spot 'blunder'

A soap expert has addressed a theory that Joel Deering could have survived the fateful night he was attacked by numerous Weatherfield residents after fans spotted a 'blunder' at the end of the major 'whodunnit' storyline in Coronation Street.

As viewers of the ITV soap know, Joel, played by Calum Lill, arrived onto the cobbles in September 2023 as a charming solicitor who Dee-Dee Bailey soon fell head over heels in love with. But as those watching soon discovered, under his smooth exterior Joel was hiding a dark secret.

He had a sickening penchant for younger, underprivileged girls - including local teen Lauren Bolton, who he groomed before attacking her a leaving her for dead. She managed to get away but Joel covered his tracks when she went missing and was presumed dead, with Roy Cropper charged with her murder.

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But later, when the truth came out, Joel quickly found himself as public enemy number one. Joel's ex-fiancée Dee-Dee teamed up with DS Lisa Swain to bring him down once and for all 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 in the hope of her miscarrying, but instead prompting the early labour of their son, Frankie.

After transferring money to Lauren and his ex-wife Emily, and leaving an emotional voicemail for his former fiancée Dee-Dee, 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.

It was then confirmed he'd been killed with a heavy weapon before entering the water and several Weatheefield residents were put in the frame. Joel's murderer was eventually revealed at the end of last week in a special episode which featured a series of flashbacks from the night of Joel’s murder, interspersed with DC Kit Green's police interviews, bringing to life what really happened on September 27th.

It confirmed while Max Turner, who had confessed to killing Joel in self defence, had confronted Joel, it was Lauren who hit him over the head with a brick as he attacked her boyfriend, resulting in him succumbing to his injuries.

But Corrie fans spotted what they thought was a major blunder as they flocked to social media to comment on Joel's body being found in a 'body bag', only for Max and Lauren not to put him in one and disposed of his body in the water in a panic.

It left some thinking that Joel might not be dead after all. However, This Morning's 'Queen of Soap's has now addressed the theory on X, formerly known as Twitter, having been asked what fans 'wanted to know'. Sharing a screengrab of Joel's body discovery, she wrote: "Ok., to answer this one.., Joel was not in a body bag! He was face down, his jacket wet and it was a trick of the light that a rock looked like his head… Joel IS dead. There is no extra twist coming."

And her followers quickly thanked her for the explanation. @sjeananneb said: "Thanks Sharon, this has kept my mum and I debating the possibility since Friday's ep." @SouthernCazza1 commented: "Thank you, thank you and thank you! This has been driving me nuts! And of course now that you've said it and pointed it out how on earth did I think that rock was Joel's head? You're a star #Corrie."

@sapphicfun laughed: "Thank you Sharon, this has been bugging me for ages. I can sleep at night now." @Sapphic_joy shared: "Thank you for clearing this up. I’ve been wanting to scream ‘there was no body bag’ for days but I’m too polite!!" @AmyJoSays added: "Oh! I didn't see how the rock looked like a head but the jacket definitely looked like he was wrapped in something. Thank you for clarifying."