Coronation Street reveals what happened to Joel Deering
(Image: ITV)

Coronation Street officially confirms who killed Joel Deering in double culprit surprise as actor says 'justice'

by · Manchester Evening News

Weatherfield's biggest-ever whodunnit has come to a dramatic end as Joel Deering's killer was revealed - and it was a joint effort to off the dastardly solicitor in Coronation Street.

Fans had to wait until Friday evening (November 15) to finally discover the truth after weeks of flashbacks to that fateful night, with several cobbles residents put in the frame.

As viewers of the ITV soap know, Joel was declared missing 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 his twisted crimes, which included grooming Lauren Bolton.

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

The police carried on investigating and it wasn't long before the case became a murder investigation after Joel's body was found floating down a river. However, it was confirmed he'd been killed with a heavy weapon before entering the water and several people were been put in the frame for his murder.

There were shocking scenes during Wednesday night's (November 13) edition of the ITV soap as Max Turner confessed to killing the solicitor - after Carla Connor reported him and Lauren to the police after seeing them the night Joel died - before flashbacks showing the moment the teen confronted Joel on a railway track.

But as the week came to an end the 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.

Joel, played by Calum Lill, when he first appeared on the cobbles
(Image: ITV)

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.

The final scenes mean Calum Lill's time as Joel has officially come to an end and speaking about who was responsible for his character's end - and whether he knew about it - he 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."

Lauren dealt the final blow that killed Joel
(Image: ITV)

But as he waved goodbye to the cobbles, Calum is looking back with pride. "I hadn't worked for two years before this and I really struggled to find my feet as I started," the former Hollyoaks star explained. "For about six months, watching the episodes back I was beating myself up. I'd watch the episodes with my fiancée and I'd go upstairs and she'd know to leave me for a bit because I was beating myself up. It took that time to try and get into the character.

I worked so hard. I know that there's definitely better actors than me but I don't think anybody else could have put in as much work as I did. Because I just said, if I can give this 100% and I leave and I don't work for years, at least I know that there's no more I could have done.

"For that, it was up at 5.30am, I'd come into work and would be in work for about 15 hours. I'd get home for about 10.30pm at night, I'd eat some food quickly and then I'd do another two hours of learning lines and then do it again for about three or four months when I was busy."

He added: "Looking back, I'm finished and I can sleep now and I have time and I can see my friends. But that's probably the happiest time I had, it was amazing. I am proud of my work, not necessarily because I think I'm great but because I've not had that opportunity to work that hard before."