Coronation Street character returns to save a loved one in ITVX cliffhanger

On the day that Paul Foreman's (Peter Ash) loved ones were due to watch a recording of his ashes being launched into space, his husband Billy was not keen to attend, and unimpressed to hear people speaking about it in a celebratory mood.

At the Rovers, Paul's mum Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) and his twin sister Gemma Winter-Brown (Dolly-Rose Campbell) were joined by all of Paul's friends, and they gathered to watch Paul's remains take their final journey.

But with Billy turning up after all, the event was brought to an abrupt halt when he got steadily more drunk, before pulling the plug on the laptop and branding the whole thing a farce.

Struggling to cope with Paul's death, Billy was also guilt-ridden over making a pass at his ex, Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce), just after Paul's funeral.

After announcing that he had let a thief into his home, who had stolen his half of Paul's ashes, Billy confessed to kissing Todd in front of the packed pub.

Billy rushed out, while Todd tried to explain that he had turned Billy down, that Billy was overcome with grief and that it meant nothing.

Gemma kicked Todd out, while Bernie was comforted by Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) as she sobbed over the loss of Paul.

After confirming that she and Dev were back together, Bernie visited Todd, who revealed just how sad and self-destructive Billy had been after the funeral.

Realising that Billy was missing, Todd headed off to look for him, while we soon saw Billy sitting in the cold behind Underworld factory, where he opened a bottle and listened to voice clips of Paul until his phone battery ran out.

Then, as Billy shivered, Paul appeared before him, ordering him to get up before he ended up freezing to death.

Viewers certainly hadn't expected to see Paul again after his devastating death in September, but can his spirit convince Billy to save himself?

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