Coronation Street’s secret ‘K!LL3R’ Joel Deering has terrified fans with his creepy Hannibal Lecter impression.

The solicitor, and boyfriend of Dee-Dee Brown, has been unveiled as the person behind the attack and possible murder of Lauren Bolton, who was brutally assaulted in February and disappeared without a trace, prompting speculation the troubled teen had been murdered. Roy Cropper was wrongly charged and imprisoned for her suspected death, and fans were left stunned when it was revealed Joel was behind her disappearance all along.

Viewers were on the edge of their seats during Friday’s episode, as Joel seemingly set his sights on his next target, Bethany. Towards the end of the episode, the solicitor gently moved a sleeping Dee-Dee off his lap onto the sofa, and quietly moved to the chair where he began to scroll

through his iPad. Zooming in on a photo of Bethany, his menacing smile made fans’ skin crawl, but it was his next move that left them cringing. As he ogled Bethany, Joel finished off the last of his wine with a huge gulp, and rather than closing his mouth to swallow, he made a sucking noise through his teeth instead, as he smacked them together.

Joel seemingly revealed his next target as he zoomed in on a photo of Bethany ( 

Image:

ITV)

Viewers flocked to social media to share their disgust at Joel’s impression of movie character Hannibal Lecter, who in one famous scene during Silence of the Lambs mimics eating a victim’s liver with a “nice Chianti”, and makes an eerily similar noise to Joel as he smacks his

lips together. “Joel is freaking me out especially at the end of the episode when he was looking at the photo of bethany… i’m so scared for her,” one wrote on Twitter/X.

“Joel’s Hannibal Lecter moment was quite sinister. The fact he’s still under the radar makes him far more scary than Nathan. And as for Carla & Swain – watch this space,” another agreed. However, some fans were left disappointed by the storyline, and fumed at Corrie writers for revealing Joel as the suspected K!LL3R.

His impression of Hannibal Lecter left some viewers cringing ( 

Image:

ITV)

“What a stupid storyline, that Joel looking all Hannibal Lecter…..he’s been a right wimp up until now. This looks like it’s been hastily written into the script,” one fumed, as another raged: “Joel thinking he’s AnthonyHopkins giving his worst impression of Hannibal Lector at the end

of #Corrie. Has to be the silliest storyline ever concocted for @itvcorrie villain..! 5 months wasted of our soap lives we’re never gonna get back!”