Will Coronation Street's Peter Barlow be sent to prison for Stephen's murder?

But viewers, and Stephen's devastated mum Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls), saw that Stephen had actually dropped the broken bottle he had been using as a potential weapon just before Peter drove towards him.

Of course, this development occurred only seconds beforehand, so Peter's statement is understandable.

But with star Gascoyne set to make his exit, we're now left wondering whether his alter ego is about to be charged and sentenced to prison for killing Stephen...

Is Peter going to prison for Stephen's murder in Coronation Street?

Well, we can't imagine Peter voluntarily leaving his beloved Carla behind, and their marriage has remained solid - so it seems likely that, yes, this could be Peter's exit.

That is, unless the ITV soap are looking to kill the character off!

However, RadioTimes.com was made aware that Gascoyne will be on an extended break from Coronation Street, and that the door is being left open for a return.

So, thankfully, it looks like this rules out a fatal end for Peter.

Let's not forget, Audrey knew Peter was out for Stephen's blood over drugging Carla, and wants police to believe that Peter's actions were pre-meditated.

But usually when an innocent character kills a dangerous soap villain, they avoid punishment. Just look at Anna Windass (Debbie Rush), who bumped off her evil tormenter Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre), only for fellow victim Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) to cover for her.

Like Peter, Anna also departed the cobbles after taking down a Corrie villain.

With this being a break for Gascoyne rather than a permanent goodbye, we could see Peter jailed for manslaughter instead, meaning he can still come back at a later date and be visited off-screen by Carla and son Simon (Alex Bain).

Corrie boss Iain MacLeod recently told RadioTimes.com and other press that there would be criminal consequences after Stephen's exit - and an arrest for Peter would certainly make sense of this comment.

Read more:

• 4 Coronation Street spoilers next week: Lauren blackmails Ryan and Daisy over fling
• Coronation Street's Joe Duttine on Tim's danger from Stephen
• Sally Dynevor teases Coronation Street's exposing of Stephen's crimes amid danger for Tim
• Coronation Street producer: Killer Stephen Reid's "chickens come home to roost"
• Coronation Street boss teases "huge consequences" after Stephen's downfall

Coronation Street airs weeknights on ITV. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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