Coronation Street's Calum Lill in tears as he leaves ITV soap for good and sends final Joel Deering message

Coronation Street star Calum Lill was seen trying to fight back his tears as he was seen bowing out of the show for good - even though fans aren't buying that it's really the end of Joel Deering.

Weatherfield's biggest-ever whodunnit was seen coming to a dramatic end during the latest edition of the ITV soap on Friday night (November 15) as Joel's killer was finally 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.

Corrie viewers never really warned to Joel after he arrived onto the cobbles in September 2023 as a charming solicitor who Dee-Dee Bailey soon fell head over heels in love with.

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But under his smooth exterior Joel was hiding a dark secret - a penchant for younger, underprivileged girls - including Lauren - and when the truth came out, he quickly found himself as public enemy number one.

As fans know, 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 at the end of last week 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, confirming that while Max 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.

Following the scenes, Corrie shared a message from actor Calum as he said his final goodbyes to viewers. "For me when I found out I had this part, it was like Harry Potter getting his letter to find out he was going to Hogwarts," he told them.

He added, getting emotional: "[Corrie] is just 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."