Coronation Street fans have felt for a while there’s something not quite right about Ken’s son, Daniel Osbourne.
In a shock new theory, they now think it’s because he’s hiding a very dark secret – that he killed his own mother!
When Daniel first returned no one knew what had happened to his mum, Denise.
But then we discovered she’d upped and left him after a row when he was 15 and he’d never seen her since.
Hmm, now we think about it, that sounds very suspicious…
And now more and more hints have been dropped that this isn’t the full story as far as Denise is concerned.
Last week, Daniel gave new girlfriend, Sinead, a necklace that belonged to his mum and told her he’d kept it stuffed in a box for years.
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But it was his use of the past tense when talking about Denise that had everybody wondering. Does he not expect to ever see her again? And if not, why not?
When Sinead then mentioned she’d like to meet his mum one day, he started to behave very strangely and made an excuse to pop out.
He’s definitely hiding something, isn’t he?!
Fans are sure it means he offed Denise. Taking to Twitter they speculated that Ken Barlow’s son might just be a cold-blooded killer.
“I’m telling ya. That Daniel has killed his mum.” said Sir Dean Hurrell.
https://twitter.com/Dean_Hurrell/status/837789273105498116
“I think Daniel’s a murderer? Did he murder his mum, now Seanade? [sic]” added Jack Beckham Johnson.
https://twitter.com/IAMJACKJOHNSON6/status/837765941370961920
Gloria minshull wrote: “thinking Daniel might of killed his mum #interesting was hoping she was gonna come back though #gutted”.
#Corrie thinking Daniel might of killed his mum #intresting was hoping she was gonna come back though #gutted
— gloria minshull (@glo379) March 2, 2017
“Omg has Daniel killed his mum??” asked Victoria Mannifield.
https://twitter.com/vickykeith/status/837029496322723844
And Shaun Eley is convinced Daniel “is hiding something about his mum”.
Daniel @Rob_Mallard is hiding something about his mum @deniseblackuk #corrie @itvcorrie
— Shaun Eley (@Eley01) March 1, 2017
Lauren thinks it “might be just me being crazy but genuinely getting the feeling that Daniel murdered his mum”.
Might be just me being crazy but genuinely getting the feeling that Daniel murdered his mum 😱 #Corrie
— Lauren (@Lolzels) March 1, 2017
And Jacqueline had a theory as to where Denise actually is: “uh oh, he murdered his mum, didn’t he? She’s behind a wall at his last flat? [sic]”.
uh, oh,. he murdered his mum, didn't he? #Daniel. She's behind a wall at his last flat.m? #Corrie
— Jacqui🐝 BA(Hons), MSc. Grad Dip. (@Jacquicotter) March 1, 2017
We had been waiting for Denise’s return in the coming months after actress Denise Black, who played Denise in the show, left Emmerdale when her character Joanie Dingle died suddenly.
Fans were convinced that meant we’d be seeing her on the cobbles any day, but as time goes on, and things look ever more sinister, is the whole thing just a red herring?
Daniel’s capable of violence, we’ve seen that when he grabbed Chesney and pinned him against a wall. Did he lash out at his mum too, but that time it went too far?
Read more: Corrie’s Sinead pregnant with CHESNEY’S baby?
Is Sinead in danger now too? She’s supposedly carrying Daniel’s child, although fans think it might actually be her ex-boyfriend, Chesney’s baby.
Could Daniel’s dreams of doing an MA at Oxford see Sinead in his sights as his next victim?
Or is there actually a far more innocent explanation for Denise’s departure?