Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street will air a sad development in Roy Cropper's prison storyline next week, when his pet dog Freddie is taken hostage by internet vigilantes.
Viewers have recently seen Roy officially charged with the murder of missing teenager Lauren Bolton. The café owner is now residing in prison awaiting trial, having been denied bail.
With Roy locked up, his friends and neighbours have been rallying round to run the café and care for Freddie in his absence. But suspicious members of the public haven't been making life easy for anyone connected to Roy.
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In scenes that will air on Monday (April 22), Sam Blakeman calls at the café to pick up Freddie, having promised Nina Lucas that he would walk the dog before school.
But as Sam heads out with Freddie, he doesn't realise that an amateur sleuth who's become obsessed with Lauren's case is watching him from a table in the corner.
Soon afterwards, Sam arrives back at the café without Freddie. He's absolutely distraught and explains that the dog ran away from him.
Nina and Toyah Battersby quickly head out to look for Freddie, while Evelyn Plummer stays behind to mind the café.
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Back at Roy's Rolls, Nina, Evelyn and Asha Alahan watch a video uploaded by the sleuths, who confirm they've taken Freddie hostage. They cruelly demand that for Freddie to be returned safely, Roy must confess to Lauren's murder.
What will Roy's loved ones do in response to the nasty demands?
This week, the soap released the contents of an emotional letter penned by Roy to his loved ones, in which he states that he has “been unkind to people”.
“Evelyn, I wish you to know that your friendship has been… The word that comes to mind is essential,” the letter continued. “For my lack of appreciation and my ingratitude, I am truly sorry.”
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
