Coronation Street’s Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) has only just returned to Weatherfield after being presumed dead for months, but she looks set to exit the soap once more. 

Next week sees the character prepare to leave for Belfast, as evil Joel Deering’s (Calum Lill) plan to get rid of her appears to be coming to fruition. 

Lauren is currently in hospital having given birth prematurely to her and Joel’s baby, after he plied her with drugs to send her into early labour in a bid to stop her from exposing the truth about him. 

As viewers know, Joel has groomed young girls and was responsible for the attack on Lauren, which left police believing she was dead and wrongfully imprisoning Roy Cropper (David Neilson) for her murder.

With Lauren now back under Joel’s control, forthcoming scenes show her tell Joel’s fiancée Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) that she’ll soon be moving to Belfast. 

This news further spikes Dee-Dee’s suspicions about her fiancée, as he’d previously lied to her about a cancelled work trip to Belfast when she saw a notification on his laptop asking him to rate his experience at Belfast Airport. 

When she later confronts Joel, she refuses to give up in her pursuit of the truth. 

What will she uncover, and what will it mean for Lauren and her baby’s imminent departure?

Actress Channique Sterling-Brown revealed Dee-Dee will soon wise up to who Joel really is and become ‘hellbent on bringing him down’. 

‘It’s actually not just a personal crusade, she’s absolutely horrified to find out the truth of who he is and what he has done,’ she said. 

‘She’s going to throw herself into trying to get justice for his victims, deflecting from her feelings and conflict with herself, and feelings for this person she loved and who still loves her. 

‘It’s a really complicated thing but her main aim is trying to get justice for those involved,’ she adds. 

Coronation Street airs these scenes from Monday 19 August at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.