Coronation Street viewers finally discovered the truth about Joel Deering’s death during a special flashback episode on Friday with the dramatic instalment saw Lauren Bolton revealed as the killer

Coronation Street went all out for the dramatic departure of villain Joel Deering.

The soap launched a gripping whodunnit last month centred around the twisted solicitor Joel, played by Calum Lol. Fans will remember him arriving as a seemingly nice guy in 2023 and starting a relationship with Dee-Dee Bailey, portrayed by Channique Sterling-Brown.

However, his ‘true’ nature was soon exposed. In a shocking turn of events, it was revealed that he had a past of grooming and abusing young girls, including Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) – who he tried to murder, leading her to go into hiding for several months.

Joel’s horrific crimes were eventually uncovered – and at the end of September, his body was discovered in a local river. However, a pathologist later determined that Joel had died before entering the water.

Over the past few weeks, many locals have become suspects, including Dee-Dee, and even Carla Connor, played by Alison King, reports Plymouth Live.

However, during Friday’s episode (November 15), Joel’s murderer was finally revealed. The thrilling flashback episode unveiled the ‘true’ events of that day, and Joel’s final moments.

And in a massive twist, it was confirmed that it was Lauren who had killed him. In tense scenes, Joel was hunted down by a revengeful Max Turner (Paddy Beaver) on a railway track after being hit by a crowbar swung by Dee Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown).

Telly addicts witnessed a nail-biting moment on the cobbles when twisted lawyer Joel got his comeuppance at the hands of Lauren after a nasty verbal spat with Max. In a heroic defence, Lauren clocked her abuser with a rock, sending him off to meet his maker.

The tense aftermath saw Max and Lauren hauled into separate interviews at the station by detective Kit Green (Jacob Roberts), following their decision to chuck Joel’s body in the drink and turn themselves in.

But it’s not just the on-screen drama that’s got tongues wagging. It seems Corrie producers have been dipping into big motion picture magic.

Chatting with Reach and other journos, actor Calum, who plays doomed Joel, spilled the beans about their top-tier filming experience.

“It was as if we were filming a movie,” he dished out. The star elaborated: “One of the scenes we spent about 12 hours shooting and we’ve got all these different cameras and green screens and special effects. It was incredible.”

Even A-listers were rubbing shoulders with the Corrie crew. Calum dished the dirt: “Where we filming, it was Peaky Blinders movie, House of Guinness, these big Hollywood films, and then us.”

It’s not the first time the street has borrowed some snazzy tech for a send-off; they pulled the same tricks for Kelly Neelan’s (Millie Gibson) 2022 exit. Reflecting on acting in front of the volume wall and tech marvels, Calum said: “It was this huge black room, the ceiling was probably 70 feet high.”

“And it’s just this massive semi-circle of screens and then your set in the middle. We had this long railway bridge that we built, and that’s on a table that turns.”

Calum continued: “So instead of the camera moving, the train track moves and the whole background is synched to the camera. So wherever the camera moves, the background moves as if the camera’s moving in the real place. It’s crazy, but it’s really cool.”

Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at ITV1 and ITVX at 8pm