Coronation Street will see the return of twisted villain Nathan Curtis (Chris Harper) as he returns to Weatherfield after being released from prison.
This also means a dark plot is coming for his victim Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon), who also returned to the cobbles recently. Soap fans will remember that evil Nathan groomed a teenage Bethany by giving her booze and drugs, before sexually assaulting her in 2017.
Following the harrowing ordeal, Nathan came dangerously close to selling Bethany into sex work overseas, but she was able to call the police and finally escape his clutches.
Nathan and his gang went to prison, but Bethany will be left terrified next month when she learns that he's been released, Coronation Street producers have confirmed.
In upcoming scenes, Bethany discovers Nathan had actually been freed some time ago so she tracks him down to a building site where he's been working to confront him, working up the courage to tackle her fears head on.
In fact, Bethany suspects he may have been involved in Lauren Bolton's (Cait Fitton) murder, which Roy Cropper (David Neilson) has wrongly been accused of. There's further torment for Roy in upcoming scenes too, when he collapses in his cell in tonight's episode (Monday, April 29).
Determined to bring justice to Lauren's attacker, as well as getting justice for Roy, Bethany will force herself to confront Nathan in upcoming scenes which means we'll be seeing actor Chris Harper back on our screens again soon.
Speaking about returning to the cobbles, Chris said: "I was emotional when I was told about Nathan's potential return.
"During the 18 months he was in it before, hundreds of people shared with me how the storyline reflected something they, or someone they loved, had lived through."
He continued: "It remains important to keep them in mind as we continue Bethany's story. Once again, I am grateful for the ongoing support of Barnardo's, NSPCC, S.H.E.UK, and all the people who trusted me last time.
"We have another chance to raise an issue that affects so many lives, so often shrouded in shame."
On the character of Nathan, Chris revealed: “I do love playing Nathan though. He is funny, deceitful, slippery, manipulative and ruthless. Now he is also under a lot of pressure. This new storyline is absolutely full of twists.”
“It really is good to be back on the hallowed cobbles. So much has happened since we saw Nathan sent to prison, but Coronation Street is a constant. I feel like the cast, crew and the whole team are old friends.”
Coronation Street airs hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 pm on ITV — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on ITVX.
