There was a collective gasp when Pat Phelan appeared in a Corrie trailer last month wielding a gun with evil intent.
Surely, there could only be one outcome – investigator Daniel Osbourne was going to get shot dead for prying into the deranged killer’s business.
But wait – in a massive twist that’s sure to delight fans of the reporter, it transpires that he’s not going to be bumped off after all. At least, not yet.
How do we know this? Because the actor who plays him – Rob Mallard – has just signed a new contract to stay in Weatherfield for another year.
He told The Sun Online: “Well, I’ve just signed my second year, so as far as it comes for the next year or so, I think I’m quite safe for now – but who knows at the end of that?”
You can hardly blame ITV bosses for wanting to keep Daniel on the programme – he’s been at the centre of some pretty juicy storylines recently.
Apart from his run-in with Phelan, he romped with Sinead, getting her pregnant, and almost killed his dad Ken by pushing him down the stairs.
Sinead is back with Chesney now – earlier this week, Daniel was gutted to see the pair celebrating their engagement, and even threw up in the street.
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But Rob suggested that we could yet see Daniel and Sinead reunited in the coming months.
“Absolutely there’s a way back,” he said, “because the only reason she isn’t still with Daniel is because when they first got together, the drama erupted with the Barlows that she obviously got pulled into.”
“Aside from that, they had everything going for them. They were both a little bit left of centre, not really part of any crowd.
“They didn’t have an in-group – they found an in-group with each other, and I think they will always have that.
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“When someone can make you laugh, you tend to remember them for quite a long time and you tend to believe what you’ve got between you is worth it.”
Although Daniel may be safe from Phelan, the same can’t be said for Vinny.
Phelan is furious that his old mate paid a heavy to attack him with a crowbar in his home, and at first it seemed like he was going to take it out on Vinny’s mum.
But it soon became clear that it’s Vinny he wants, and this coming week there’s going to be high drama as he attempts to put his plan into action.
Will it come off? You’ll have to wait and see!