Coronation Street's Joel turns the tables on Lauren – as Dee-Dee uncovers the sickening truth

Frankie remains under the care of the hospital, and as the ITV soap continued, Dee-Dee looked up jewellers in the hopes of finding out where Lauren's necklace was purchased from.

DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) discovered that Joel represented Lauren in a case of criminal damage; creating a concrete link between the predator and his victim, who he tried to kill earlier this year. When Lisa called Joel to ask why he hadn't disclosed this to the police, Joel played innocent.

Dee-Dee made a breakthrough with the necklace, and asked a passing Lisa if she recalled the piece of jewellery. Lisa wasn't sure, but found it "interesting" that Joel hadn't been honest with Dee-Dee about his recent questioning at the station.

Dee-Dee spoke with Roy Cropper (David Neilson), who had drawn Lauren's necklace from memory while falsely imprisoned for Lauren's 'murder'.

This reminded Dee-Dee that she had asked Joel to hand over the sketch to the authorities – which he probably hadn't done, given there had been no leads at the time.

Dee-Dee went to see Lauren and Frankie at the hospital, asking the teen about Joel and the necklace. When Lauren mentioned that she was moving to Belfast when Frankie was well enough, Dee-Dee recalled Joel's "cancelled" work trip to the same place.

Joel feigned ignorance when Dee-Dee told him of the coincidence, and again when she probed him over the necklace. But Dee-Dee followed him to the hospital, where she saw Joel standing over Frankie's incubator with Lauren.

As she saw the look on Joel's face, Dee-Dee realised that he was Frankie's father. She felt sick as she trawled through all her memories of Joel lying to her over and over again; but as Joel emerged from the room with yet another lie, Dee-Dee regained her composure.

Alone with Lauren again, Dee-Dee coaxed the truth of Frankie's parentage out of her. In an extended two-hander scene played superbly by Sterling-Brown and Fitton, Lauren described Joel's ongoing abuse.

It dawned on Dee-Dee that Joel hadn't only had sex with Lauren – he had groomed and attacked her, too.

Joel listened outside the room as Dee-Dee and Lauren realised that Joel had spiked Lauren's food to induce dangerously early labour – hoping to abort the child and destroy the proof of his abuse.

Unaware that Joel had heard everything, Dee-Dee took Lauren to the police station, and supported the young woman in her interview with Lisa.

But Joel had got there first, telling DC Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) he'd had a sexual relationship with Lauren that he deeply regretted.

Joel then publicly accused Lauren of deliberately inducing her own labour, and there was no choice but for her to be questioned again.

At home, Dee-Dee broke down in dad Ed Bailey's (Trevor Michael Georges) arms. On Wednesday, Dee-Dee confronts Joel – but how will their conversation pan out? Can Dee-Dee help bring Joel to justice?

Read more:

• Coronation Street 'to bring back former character' amid Sean Wilson exit
• Coronation Street's Stu Carpenter set to leave soap after three years in 'explosive storyline'
• 7 Coronation Street spoilers: Dee-Dee confronts Joel and Alina in danger
• Coronation Street's Joel reels as Lauren gives birth and his sick plan backfires

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