Coronation Street fans have been left stunned by the surprise return of Denise Osbourne, who many believed had been killed off.
The former Weatherfield stalwart, played by Denise Black, turned up on the doorstep in Tuesday night’s episode after vanishing a decade ago.
Viewers took to Twitter in droves the moment she appeared at her son Daniel’s door in the ITV show and long-time soap fans were thrilled to see her face again.
@SallyAnMatthews Absolute icon of 90s Corrie!! So glad she’s back!!
— James Watson (@lp2868) May 30, 2017
Omg Denise is back #corrie @deniseblackuk BRILLIANT @itvcorrie
— KEITH FARREN (@KeithFarren25) May 30, 2017
#Corrie on 🔥🔥Great set of characters and 90s icon Denise 💄
— Andrew Jones (@AndrewJones10) May 30, 2017
I don’t recongise half the regulars now but Denise is from my era! #Corrie
— Matthew Rimmer (@MatthewRimmer) May 30, 2017
Did not expect Denise to come back! I thought she was gonna end up dead 🙈assumed it was the landlord at the door #Corrie @itvcorrie
— Laura Todd (@xLauraToddx) May 30, 2017
Meanwhile, others teased that it marked a timely resurrection, not of Denise Osbourne, but of her Emmerdale character Joanie Wright, who left the show in a sudden death several months ago.
Joanie from @Emmerdale has sprung back to life in @ITVCorrie.#Corrie
— Andy Gibson (@AndyGibsonTV) May 30, 2017
So Joanie gets killed off in Emmerdale then gets reincarnated straight onto #Corrie
— Steph Scott (@GwenSteph88) May 30, 2017
Joanie’s back from the dead 😂😂 #Corrie #coronationstreet
— andrew mcguirk (@andrewmcguirk2) May 30, 2017
Denise’s return came just as Daniel (played by Rob Mallard) admitted that he was the one who tried to kill his father Ken Barlow (William Roache) and began to reveal to him the impact that his mother’s disappearance had on his life.
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Ken joined viewers in suspecting that Daniel had killed her when he dug up a box of Denise’s belongings that his son had buried under a rose bush in the garden.
Speaking before her return to the ITV soap was broadcast, Denise told how she filled the box herself with “trinkets” that she had kept from her previous 15-year stint on the show.
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Some viewers proudly insisted that they predicted Denise’s return to the show…
@itvcorrie I knew it. I knew she was coming back.🙌🏻. None of my family believed me but I knew it was happening.🙌🏻🙌🏻
— Courtney S Chilvers (@courtney_shania) May 30, 2017