ITV Coronation Street clues you missed as Joel Deering unmasked as Lauren Bolton's killer

Coronation Street dropped a bombshell on Thursday night, revealing the identity of Lauren Bolton's killer in a chilling flashback. The soap had been dropping hints about the murderer's identity for weeks.

Roy Cropper, who was wrongfully arrested and charged as the prime suspect in the supposed murder of missing teenager Lauren, has been under scrutiny. Fans will remember that Lauren, a troubled young girl, mysteriously disappeared from the cobbles earlier this year, leaving her friend Bobby worried when he discovered her flat unlocked and empty.

Lauren's departure was never shown on screen, and it appears she didn't inform anyone of her plans to leave Weatherfield except Roy. After Bobby reported Lauren missing, Roy became a suspect due to his kind-hearted nature.

His innocent act of cleaning Lauren's flat raised suspicions, leading some to believe he was guilty. Online trolls have since made his life difficult with a flood of abuse.

In Thursday's episode, DS Lisa Swain and newcomer Kit believed they had solved the case when they arrested Nathan Curtis, a known abuser who had previously tormented Bethany Platt and was recently released from prison. As they questioned Nathan in his cell, with Joel Deering acting as his lawyer, a graphic flashback suggested Nathan was the culprit, reports the Mirror.

However, in a shocking twist later in the episode, it was revealed that Joel was actually Lauren's killer.

As the episode concluded, the locals of the cobbles celebrated Roy's release from prison following Nathan's arrest. Joel left the festivities and headed to his car, which young Hope Stape had been cleaning as part of her fundraising efforts for drama club Little Big Shotz.

In a chilling turn of events, Hope revealed she had discovered a necklace under his car seat while cleaning - it was Lauren's necklace.

This revelation triggered a graphic flashback, showing Joel assaulting Lauren, leaving her lifeless and bloodied. He then looked at himself in the mirror, visibly shaken and repeatedly touching his face in shock.

As Joel hurriedly left the flat, he snatched Lauren's necklace from the side. After the flashback, a menacing Joel was shown playing with the necklace on the cobbles before staring into the distance.

Let's examine all the clues that pointed to Joel being the culprit all along....

The receipt

Earlier this year, soap fans may remember Dee-Dee Bailey finding a jeweller's receipt that had fallen out of Joel's wallet. The receipt was dated December and showed that Joel had spent a significant amount of money.

When confronted by Dee-Dee, Adam Barlow and Alya Nazir about the receipt, Joel claimed he had purchased some cufflinks for himself.

However, with Roy recalling a memory of Lauren wearing a necklace given to her by her mystery boyfriend prior to her disappearance, and Hope discovering Lauren's necklace in Joel's car, it seems likely that the expensive item on Joel's jeweller's receipt was actually Lauren's necklace, not cufflinks.

In a bizarre turn of events, the disappearance of Lauren in Coronation Street sparked speculation amongst fervent fans, who started to link her vanishing act with another "missing" character.

Social media was awash with theories, as one vigilant viewer on Twitter suggested: "Notice how Joel has disappeared and so has Lauren? #corrie", whilst another chimed in with: "Is there a possible link to Lauren's disappearance with Joel?" An assertive fan stated: "My theory is Joel killed Lauren on @itvcorrie because he was secretly seeing her #Corrie #WhoKilledLauren."

Meanwhile, one fan offered an elaborate rationale on how Joel could have been engaged in a clandestine relationship with Lauren: "#corrie I'm starting to side with everyone who accused Joel of being Lauren's secret boyfriend. 1. We haven't seen him since she went missing. 2. The day Dee-Dee dumped him was the same day Lauren was covered in bruises.

"3. Solicitor so knows how to cover up a crime scene. 4. He's a Solicitor so has a lot of money- one of the few things we do know about the secret bf. 5. Dee-Dee is abstaining until marriage, which would explain his connection to Lauren. I also do not believe his story about that other lady being his wife. #corrie"

Secret family

Earlier this year, Dee-Dee was left heartbroken when she discovered the shocking secret her new beau had been concealing for months. Joel was compelled to reveal the truth following weeks of dubious behaviour and mounting evidence suggesting infidelity.

After clandestine meetings with a mysterious woman named Emily, Joel finally confessed to Dee-Dee.

He unveiled two significant revelations - he was secretly married to Emily and they had a baby daughter together. Joel asserted that they had separated 18 months prior, and their little girl was just a year old.

He explained to Dee-Dee that his marriage was on the rocks before their split, but they attempted reconciliation when Emily fell pregnant.

Joel was subsequently forced to admit that he'd been unfaithful to Emily during her pregnancy, leading to her evicting him. With Joel harbouring numerous secrets, what else could he be hiding?