A familiar face may lead to Joel’s undoing.

Coronation Street spoilers follow.

Coronation Street has dropped the biggest hint yet that Joel Deering will be caught out.

The sinister solicitor has thus far been able to escape any criminal prosecution for his torment of Lauren Bolton, though Joel’s ex-fiancée Dee-Dee Bailey hasn’t given up hope of bringing him down.

Monday’s (September 16) instalment revealed that the key to proving Joel’s guilt might rest with his former employers at the Walcott’s firm, where he’d been tasked with helping vulnerable young people.

Joel continued his quest against the residents of Weatherfield in the latest episode when he confirmed he would be suing Carla Connor for slander.

Meanwhile, Dee-Dee and DS Lisa Swan had previously asked Daniel Osbourne to arrange a meeting with Joel’s former victim Ellie, through his contact with social worker Nicky Wheatley.

At this meeting, Ellie confirmed that she’d been groomed and abused by Joel when he was representing her, but ran away instead of agreeing to speak to police.

Ellie ultimately changed her mind after visiting Lauren in the hospital. Nicky brought Ellie back around so she could tell the whole story — Joel had been caught having sex with her at his law firm. Walcott’s then made Ellie sign an NDA and fired Joel.

Dee-Dee finally had the damning evidence she needed, so she called in at Walcott’s to reveal she knew about the circumstances behind Joel’s firing.

After she demanded the firm help her expose the truth, she got word from Walcott’s that its lawyers were now willing to give evidence against Joel.

DS Swain was able to leverage this new evidence to get the CPS to re-open the criminal case, with Dee-Dee predicting: “I really think we’ve got him. This is the beginning of the end for Joel Deering!”

Is the villain finally going down?

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.