The character was seen pushing Carla Connor to admit her feelings for DS Lisa Swain

Coronation Street fans have been hailing Ryan Connor’s latest appearance in the programme but it did lead to some questioning the whereabouts of a ‘missing’ character.

The character was seen chatting with his aunt Carla Connor during the latest instalment of the ITV soap on Wednesday night (October 9) after picking up that something was going on between her and DS Lisa Swain.

Earlier this week, Corrie viewers saw was in court where she came face to face with Tom, the dad of the lad she knocked off of his bike after she caught him terrorising Roy Cropper following his release from prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Back at the factory with the client less than impressed and Carla was quick to take her anger out on Betsy and Sarah, unaware that Tom had followed her back from court and was watching her oversee a delivery. She was then left startled when Tom appeared, his fury evident, leaving Carla fearing for her life.

However, as Swain headed to talk to Carla after hearing about Betsy’s sacking, she stumbled across the scene and quickly jumped into action and arrested Tom in front of a shaken Carla. Later, she paid Carla a visit to see how she was and with Ryan Connor leaving them alone, the pair were seen opening up over a bottle of wine.

A charged moment between the pair followed where Carla tenderly grabbed Lisa’s face and begged her not to put herself in danger, for Betsy’s sake. After a brief moment, Lisa became overwhelmed and rushed out of the door, just as Carla seemingly realised she’d felt something between the pair.

In Corrie’s mid-week episode, Carla was seen making amends with Swain’s daughter Betsy after she sacked her in a moment of anger following her court appearance. She then visited Lisa at the precinct, saying they needed to talk about what went on between them the previous night.

When Carla questioned whether Lisa thought she was “just a tourist” exploring an interest in another woman, the detective admitted that’s indeed what she suspected. “We don’t need a post-mortem on something that never even happened,” Lisa commented before they agreeded that they’d focus on their friendship to avoid over-complicating things between them.

Later, Carla headed home where Ryan was enjoying a singalong to pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo. Ryan brough up Swain and asked if the two women had had a row as thing suddenly seemed different between them.

As she settled down on the sofa contemplating her feelings, Ryan suggested they watch Vera because “who doesn’t love a female copper”. After some pushing, Carla did end up admitting that she’d “almost had a kind of moment” with Lisa but still wasn’t sure where they stood. “I’ve just watched you both pretending not to look at each other,” Ryan shared. “And her face dropped when you legged it and all.”

Carla admitted she was worried she would “ruin a potentially great friendship” by pursuing anything romantic with Lisa to which Ryan teased: “You wanna kiss her,” as Carla playfully swatted his hand away.

And Corrie fans were quickly flocking to social media to praise Ryan’s involvement in the evolving storyline between Carla and Lisa.@sofaneilas said: “Ryan and his comments to Carla. #corrie i love him sm.” @KarmaPoliceA1 wrote: “@itvcorrie #Corrie LOVED the Ryan/Carla sofa scene. Fabulous.”

@Ward_Swift13 shared: “Screaming at that scene with carla and ryan. She’s down BAD #Corrie #Swarla.” @Vanity_Dingle commented: “The fact that Ryan aka Carla’s surrogate son/nephew could be the reason behind SWARLA becoming a thing #corrie.” @mishybabez_ posted: “If Ryan plays matchmaker with Carla and Lisa I’ll love him for all eternity #Swarla #Corrie.”

@LanaKlaineSWEN wrote: “‘Who doesn’t love a female copper’ The fact Ryan knew before Carla told him because Swarla were so obvious is hilarious to me! Ryan sort them out please and thank you #Corrie.” @xxAlicia89 added: “Loved that scene between Ryan & Carla.. talking about her moment with Lisa. Ryan is totally shipping them. #Corrie.”

But it left other fans questioning the whereabouts of Carla’s nephew, Bobby. @Hey_Judexx asked: “What has happened to Bobby Crawford (Carla’s nephew) in #Corrie. Not been seen since June yet Ryan is still sleeping on the couch?”@sbrownstortford echoed: “What’s happened to the mighty Bobby? #Corrie.” @SixtyTwoMike added: “I’ve only just realised as we’ve been seeing more of Ryan recently – where the heck is Bobby? He was so involved in the Lauren storyline but has he even seen her since her return? #Corrie.”