Yes, we know Pat Phelan is a very bad man indeed – a serial killer, no less. But every so often Coronation Street throws us a curve ball which really subverts our feelings towards him.
Of course a murderer can’t be likeable OR redeemable… and YET… there are very occasional glimpses of humanity that really unsettle our belief system.
Take Phelan discovering that his beloved daughter Nicola had merely moved in with him so she could spy on his comings and goings, in order to discover he was a wrong un.
Many viewers expected the Street slayer would kill her… instead he shed a tear as he told her he never wanted to see her again.
Proper crying, we’re convinced. There is a small chance that he could have been acting and they were crocodile tears, but it’s more likely she pierced his very tiny/very well-hidden heart.
Later, he told Eileen that from now on she was the only person he could and would trust – and we saw a combination of vulnerable and needy within him.
This isn’t the first time he’s shown a genuine tender side, either – in fact, he recently turned hero for young Summer.
Having missed her school bus home, she started to walk and was pursued by what can only be described as a pervy man.
He was persistent in trying to coax her into his car, even commenting on what a pretty girl she was.
Summer looked as though she was wavering, desperate as she was to get home to Billy.
That’s until Phelan appeared in his red van, like a superhero, and put a protective arm around the frightened teen. He menacingly told her that he had also clocked the registration plate of the man’s car.
Was he planning on bumping him off later? Many viewers tweeted that they would like him to go after the driver and kill him. What a fickle bunch!
And what a complex character Weatherfield’s resident psycho really is.
Do you think Phelan could be redeemed? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!