1) Cassie dupes Alina

There’s an unwelcome blast from the past for Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) next week,

when Tyrone’s ex-lover Alina Pop (Ruxandra Porojnicu) returns to Weatherfield.

Rita (Barbara Knox) and Debbie (Sue Devaney) recently read that the leader of a Romanian human trafficking group would be going on trial in the area, and pointed out to Fiz that it could mean Alina could be called to give evidence.

Their instincts were correct, and Fiz is stunned when she happens to bump into Alina in Freshco’s car park of all places.

“Alina’s back in Weatherfield to be a witness in the trial against the traffickers,” Ruxandra Porojnicu confirmed to EverySoap at a recent press event. “She feels like she should avoid Tyrone and Fiz for sure.”

“I think she is curious to see Tyrone and to speak with him again at some point,” Ruxandra continues. “Obviously she had feelings for him and he was a very important person in her life. But I would say if it wasn’t for the court trial, she wouldn’t have chosen to come back at this time.”

After Alina explains to Fiz the reasons for her being back in Weatherfield, Fiz is left with the dilemma of whether to tell her husband that his ex has returned.

Tyrone’s mum Cassie (Claire Sweeney) takes a different stance however, when she takes a booking for Alina whilst in the cab office. Deviously taking Steve’s (Simon Gregson) cab, she heads to pick up Alina herself… before driving her straight to Coronation Street!

Alina is furious when she realises she’s been tricked, but will a reunion with Tyrone be on the cards?

There’s also the question of whether Alina may have a little one in tow, with viewers left asking whether Alina was expecting Tyrone’s baby as she departed Weatherfield back in 2021.

“Yeah, I thought she was pregnant,” Ruxandra admits, before telling us that she was only thinking about it a few weeks before she got the call to return.

“I think I must have manifested it, I was thinking ‘there must be something with this, she definitely might have a baby’. So I was wondering when she would come back and cause some more drama, stir the pot!”

2) Betsy sees Joel’s true colours

Elsewhere, Lauren is terrified for her baby son, after she gave birth to him prematurely in Friday’s episode. In a sickening twist, her abuser Joel (Calum Lill) had intended to cause a miscarriage by drugging Lauren’s food and locking her in the flat.

However, Max (Paddy Bever) came to Lauren’s aid as she lay in agony on the floor, and she went on to give birth three months early.

Lauren watches over her son in his incubator, willing for him to survive. When Lisa (Vicky Myers) later visits Lauren intent on asking more questions, will the trauma cause her to spill all about Joel? Later in the week, Max does his best to lift Lauren’s spirits by treating her to lunch at the bistro.

Meanwhile, Lisa’s daughter Betsy (Sydney Martin) continues to rile up Joel, unaware of what he’s truly capable of. Although she has not been witness to any of his crimes, Betsy has been blackmailing Joel after a chat with Sabrina (Luana Santos) gave her the sense that he preys on vulnerable young girls.

Betsy makes her latest demand, reminding a seething Joel that he owes her after he left her stranded in the middle of a rough area of town. He later scrolls through Betsy’s socials, what is he planning?

In need of more cash, Betsy tells Joel that unless he gives her £1000, she will tell everyone that he’s been picking up young girls. It seems as though Betsy has finally pushed thing too far though, as Joel loses his temper and drags her into the ginnel…

3) Beth is sprung by Craig and Kit

Also making use of the ginnel next week is Beth (Lisa George), who is finally able to hand over the counterfeit t-shirts that she, Betsy, and Izzy (Cherylee Houston) have been working on after-hours at the factory.

Their activities blew up last week after Kirk (Andy Whyment) accidentally took one of the boxes out for a delivery, with the Underworld client confused to receive a box of t-shirts.

When Carla (Alison King) confronted her, Beth furiously quit, knowing that she would hopefully be offered a job by her customer.

Next week, having finally retrieved the t-shirts, Beth delivers them to Sid (Michael Jinks) in the ginnel, but is spotted by policeman son Craig (Colson Smith) and his superior Kit (Jacob Roberts). Beth’s mortified as they approach and ask what’s going on.

With her chances with Sid now blown, Beth is forced to crawl back to Carla and ask for her job back…

4) Hope has eyes on Jack

There’s heartbreak for young Sam (Jude Riordan), when girlfriend Hope (Isabella Flanagan) decides to dump him, in the hope of trading him in for the street’s latest ‘bad boy’.

13-year-old Hope has suddenly become interested in neighbour Jack (Kyran Bowes), who last week was charged with setting fire to the offices of Stefan Brent (Paul Opacic).

Fiz and Tyrone despair when Hope tells them the latest development, unsure if Jack is ideal boyfriend material.

Despite not even having spoken to Jack yet, Hope visits Dr Gaddas and reveals that she wants to go on the pill. Dr Gaddas instead gives Hope some condoms, and urges her to speak to her family before getting herself involved in that sort of relationship.

Will Hope tell Fiz and Tyrone of her plans?

5) Stu gives Mason a chance

Dylan’s (Liam McCheyne) fears about Mason (Luca Toolan) resurface peak again next week, as the young offender scores a job at Speed Daal.

Stu (Bill Fellowes) had come across a bloodied and bruised Mason in the precinct a couple of weeks ago, and gave him a feed at the restaurant after taking pity on him. It wasn’t until later that he learned who Mason was, and asked him to leave.

Stu is concerned when he sees Mason and Betsy stealing food from the corner shop, and when Mason reveals that he’s homeless, Stu cannot stand by and do nothing. He offers Mason a bed at No.6, but Mason refuses to accept his charity.

He does however accept Stu’s offer of a job at Speed Daal as a pot washer, which infuriates Gary (Mikey North) when he finds out.

Gary makes his position on the matter very clear, and when Mason later tells Betsy that he’s expecting trouble now that he’s returned to the area, Betsy decides to try and help matters.

Approaching Dylan, she warns him that he better not cause any trouble for Mason…

Seeing his son’s fear, Sean (Antony Cotton) lets rip into Yasmeen (Shelley King) and Stu over their decision to hire his son’s tormentor.

Will they be forced to reconsider?

6) Leanne is asked to step up

Elsewhere, Leanne (Jane Danson) continues to maintain a distance from Toyah (Georgia Taylor), who is about to embark on treatment for ovarian cancer.

Leanne was convinced by Institute leader Rowan (Emrhys Cooper) to “withdraw with love” from Toyah, in order to not bring herself down with negative emotion.

Sticking to her decision, Leanne is unable to offer any words of comfort to Toyah in advance of her latest appointment, leaving Nick (Ben Price) to once again provide that much needed support.

Rowan later informs Leanne that she has been chosen by boss Willow to run the new resource centre the institute planning to build, and that she is expected to meet with a potential investor to give a sales pitch. Rowan introduces Leanne to the investor, Grant, and waits to see if her pitch will be successful.

7) Are Steve and Cassie heading for romance?

Also next week, Steve and Cassie’s friendship continues to blossom, as they head down to the Weathy County ground to watch the game.

The spark between the pair hasn’t been lost on Steve’s daughter Amy (Elle Mulvaney), who has teased Steve about the budding romance, but neither have taken any steps to take things further.

Joining Tim (Joe Duttine) and Kevin (Michael Le Vell) in the Rovers afterwards, Tim asks Steve about Demi, the lady he had previously dated for a short while after meeting on a dating app. Steve admits he’s forgotten all about her.

Will Steve and Cassie ever take that next step, or is there a curveball on the horizon…?

Joining Tim (Joe Duttine) and Kevin (Michael Le Vell) in the Rovers afterwards, Tim asks Steve about Demi, the lady he had previously dated for a short while after meeting on a dating app. Steve admits he’s forgotten all about her.

Will Steve and Cassie ever take that next step, or is there a curveball on the horizon…?