Yahoo News 9 Corrie spoilers revealing what's next for Pat Phelan
Barely a day goes by without another Coronation Street news story revealing what resident villain Pat Phelan will be getting up to next. It can also be pretty easy to lose track of his never-ending schemes – murder, blackmail, framing people for crimes they didn't commit. And that's only the half of it.
Fortunately, we're here with a handy guide to Phelan's future, recapping all the biggest spoilers and teasers we know for his upcoming storylines.
1. Phelan WILL get his comeuppance
Let's get the most important one out of the way first – Coronation Street isn't going to let Phelan's reign of terror drag on indefinitely. That's good news for famous Corrie fans like Fern Britton and Sir Michael Parkinson, who've accused the show of going too far with his increasingly bonkers storylines.
When Phelan's double murder twist shocked Corrie's fanbase last month, Connor McIntyre – who plays him – confirmed that it would set the ball in motion for his just desserts. Asked whether the soap gods will do their worst, he replied: "It must be so and we have just woken them up out of their slumber – 'hey, this needs sorting out'."
After hundreds of complaints from viewers over Phelan's murderous actions, Corrie also later told Digital Spy: "One day, Phelan will get his comeuppance and justice will be done." Phew.
2. Phelan's comeuppance ISN'T happening anytime soon
You've heard the good news, now here's the bad – well, at least if you're the type of fan who wants things wrapped up as quickly as possible. When Digital Spy caught up with Corrie's producer Kate Oates at the Inside Soap Awards earlier this month, she confirmed that the show isn't in any rush to bring Phelan's story to an end.
Kate told us: "It's just the right length of time. When it happens, people will be really ready for it and really hungry for it. But there's a few dark twists and turns to come first..." That doesn't sound good for Phelan's enemies.
3. Phelan's downfall will mean a dramatic exit
Not a huge surprise, but Connor doesn't seem in any doubt that Phelan's comeuppance will involve him bowing out from the show. While some villains can be redeemed after a downfall, that's not exactly looking likely for someone who's plunged to such dark depths as Phelan.
Connor told this week's Inside Soap: "I'll be there until there is no more need for Pat Phelan – and of course I'll miss him!"
4. Phelan has a Mr Nice Guy act ahead
Anna Windass may spend most of her time bad-mouthing Phelan – and rightly so after what he's put her through – but she may struggle to get anyone to believe her after he tries to claw back his popularity among the locals.
In the next fortnight, we'll see Phelan try to get back in Faye's good books by offering Seb his job back at the builders' yard. He also gives local vicar Billy Mayhew money for the church fund and even hands out £5,000 compensation to everyone he conned with his fake flats last year. Who needs Santa when you've got Phelan in a good mood?
5. There's a long way to go yet for Phelan and Anna
Phelan's biggest enemy Anna is leaving the show and Corrie bosses have never made any secret of the fact that her departure is likely to be linked to her nemesis. Anna's final scenes aren't expected to air until early 2018, so there's at least another two months of this cat and mouse game still to come.
In this Friday's double bill, Phelan uses his knowledge of Gary and Nicola's baby secret to his advantage, telling Anna about her son's infidelity in an effort to blackmail her. Phelan tells Anna they should work together – although his idea of co-operation is usually slightly skewed in his favour, to say the least.
Recent paparazzi pictures taken on location also showed Anna being arrested in some heartbreaking Christmas scenes. Will this be connected to Phelan's attempts to frame her? (Do we even have to ask?)
6. Nicola will be back
Soaps love to trick us with a fake exit and there were some fears that we'd seen the last of Phelan's daughter Nicola when she left the Street and jetted off to Australia.
Fortunately, our soap insiders confirmed that Nicola will be back at some point in the near future. With much more to explore between her and Phelan – not to mention her being pregnant with Gary's baby – it certainly would have been a shame to see her go so soon.
7. The focus of Phelan's story will shift to Eileen
Sharing another juicy Corrie spoiler with Digital Spy at the Inside Soap Awards, Kate Oates confirmed that she wants the show to spend more time exploring Eileen's role in the Phelan saga. So far Eileen has seemed annoyingly oblivious to her husband's dark side, but that might be about to change in the not-too-distant future.
Kate told us: "One of the relationships we haven't seen much of is Phelan's relationship with Eileen. She's been more in the dark than Andy – and he was in the cellar for ten months!
"I think it'll be interesting as she starts to peel back some of the layers of what's going on with her husband and work out how she feels about it. She doesn't know the whole truth, but she starts to see glimpses. How much is Eileen going to put up with? She's fundamentally a good person and Phelan is going to have to work harder to pull the wool over her eyes."
8. Phelan may kill again
Corrie hasn't officially confirmed any more murders in this storyline, but as always, we've been able to rely on Connor for some sneaky hints on where things might be heading next. Chatting after Andy and Vinny were both killed off, Connor explained that the dark twist made Phelan more dangerous than ever.
Why? Well, because after months of being reluctant to kill anyone in cold blood, Phelan finally crossed the line when he shot Andy dead – and now that he's got a taste for it, he certainly won't be afraid to strike again.
Connor explained: "Pat Phelan is now a very dangerous person. Before, he would go to great lengths, for example the cellar, complicating things. The journey towards his comeuppance will be very lively I'm sure, because now he has a direct route to solving problems."
9. Evidence of Phelan's guilt will start to crop up
The occasionally-clueless residents of Coronation Street aren't known for their observational skills whenever there's a villain on the scene, but some evidence of Phelan's guilt does start to be dropped into episodes over the next few weeks. Could these be Corrie's answer to that Emma Barton video in Emmerdale – clues ready and waiting to be picked up on as the story reaches its climax?
This week, we'll see Eileen get hold of a wire model of a house that Andy made before he died, while next week's episodes see Todd smell a rat when he spots Vinny Ashford's bag. Is Phelan starting to get careless when it comes to covering his tracks? For everyone's sake, let's hope so...
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Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest Coronation Street gossip, as Robert receives a worrying diagnosis and Phelan's slippery behaviour continues.
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