Coronation Street has welcomed back one of its biggest villains into the fold as Nathan Curtis was furiously confronted by Bethany Platt over Lauren Bolton’s disapperance.

The fan favourite portrayed by Lucy Fallon was in shock on Wednesday when she told Daniel Osbourne she’d spotted a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to Nathan, her abuser. Convinced he’d been released from prison, she was then horrified when he suspicions were confirmed this Friday, May 10.

Bethany’s explosive confrontation with Nathan, who received a custodial sentence in 2017 for rape along with his accomplices, kicked off on the cobbles as she immediately accused him of kidnapping and potentially murdering wayward Lauren.

Bethany furiously confronted Nathan Curtis in tonight’s episode of Coronation Street

The teen played by Cait Fitton vanished from the cobbles earlier this year after Roy Cropper sacked her for attempting to steal from a Roy’s Rolls customer. While in her flat, the cafe owner handed over the last of her wages as she vowed to make a fresh start elsewhere.

Bobby Crawford later found Lauren’s abandoned home turned upside down and it was enough for him to head to the police station as he reported her missing. In another twist, blood was then found in the troublemaker’s flat by Sean Tully, who was keen to move into a new place after being kicked out of No.11 by Eileen Grimshaw – and Lauren’s disappearance was there and then considered a murder case, despite the lack of a body.

As mentioned, Bethany has grown increasingly convinced that Nathan could be the answer to DS Lisa Swain’s questions, due to her own experience with the treacherous character. Meanwhile Roy, who was accused of Lauren’s murder after cleaning her flat, therefore wiping out valuable evidence for the case, awaits trial behind bars.

But when she confronted him over Lauren’s disappearance, Nathan appeared clueless as he insisted he had no idea what she was talking about – and viewers were just as sceptical as Bethany over on X, otherwise known as Twitter.

One tried to put two and two together: “Nathan was released a few months ago Bethany returned to Weatherfield on New Year’s Day ( IE a few months ago) The release letter was sent to Bethany’s old address Lauren went missing on 23/02 so it makes sense for it to be Nathan who did something to her.”

Another exclaimed: “Well ofc it’s Nathan!”, while a third agreed: “It’s Nathan confirmed.” However, some sceptics have called his reappearance in the cobbles a “red herring” with one believing Joel Deering may be responsible. “The Nathan thing is a complete red herring and I still think it’s Joel”, they wrote. One final TV fan penned: “It’s not Nathan. Still think it’s…”, they trailed off, adding a GIF of The Office’s Dwight Schrute calling out for character Billy Joel William aka Joel.

But according to actor Christopher Harper, Bethany may not be far off. The soap star recently said prison may not have “reformed” Nathan after all. “I really don’t think prison has reformed him in the slightest. In some ways, I think he’s even more clever and more manipulative”, he said.

“He’s hardened, he’s aware that he can take a kicking and he’s aware of the advantages of getting other people into trouble, so he plays people off against the law.” This could mean trouble is looming on the horizon as Nathan is on the lookout for anything to exploit.

“Give him half an inch and he’ll take a mile. He will spot weaknesses in people and capitalise on them for his own ends. I think if anything he’s got even better at that”, Christopher warned. Could he even be Lauren’s mystery ex-boyfriend?