Will Coronation Street's Lauren Bolton expose evil Joel in ultimatum cliffhanger?

Terrified of Joel, who had previously coerced her into sex and then struck her over the head, Lauren ran away again, leaving Roy's oblivious loved ones determined to track her down and prove Roy's innocence over her disappearance once and for all.

Meanwhile, Joel booked his wedding to Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown), and impressed her by claiming he wanted to help find Lauren as he was worried about her.

Joel joined Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) in looking through her credit card statements, now that she knew Lauren had been using her card. Joel made call after call, trying to trace where Lauren was staying, all the while being hounded for more money by blackmailing teen Betsy Swain (Sydney Martin).

Dee-Dee spotted a clue in one of the bank statements, and she and Bethany headed to Warrington, where a homeless woman told them she had met Lauren and gave them a fresh lead.

As for Joel, he had another run-in with Betsy, who insisted he had to pay her off. When Dee-Dee alerted Joel to what she had found out about Lauren, he kicked Betsy out of his car and sped off to find his fiancée, keen to get to Lauren first.

Betsy was forced to call mum DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) for help, interrupting Lisa's chat with Carla Connor (Alison King) over the teen's bad behaviour at the factory and her other blackmail attempt over Carla's attack on the gang member that targeted Roy.

While Betsy was rescued, and later apologised to Carla and promised she would never have betrayed her secret, Joel reached Lauren, who fainted in his arms just as and Dee-Dee and Bethany arrived.

As she came to, Joel urged Lauren to keep his name out of things, and she told the girls that she was scared. They took her for hospital treatment, and were informed that Lauren and her baby were okay; but she would be kept in overnight now that doctors knew she had been squatting.

In a heartbreaking moment, Lauren told a nurse that she hoped her baby was a boy, as life would be "easier for him". Then Joel visited Lauren's room alone, promising that he could keep her fed and warm - if she lied to the police that Nathan Curtis (Chris Harper) had attacked her and that she didn't want to press charges.

Lauren remained cold as she tried to stand up to Joel, but as Lisa arrived and Joel fled, we were left wondering what Lauren would do next. Will she tell Lisa the truth, or cover for Joel in order to get a roof over her head?

Read more:

• Coronation Street stars knew Joel’s dark twist right from the start
• Corrie’s Charlie Wrenshall reacts to “surreal” win at RadioTimes.com Soap Awards
• Corrie's Vicky Myers on potential DS Swain and Carla romance: 'She is not looking for love'
• Coronation Street’s Daniel Brocklebank on Peter Ash: “I’ll miss him terribly”

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