were seen cosying up between scenes. The actress secretly returned to the ITV soap earlier

this year as Lauren Bolton’s return was kept a surprise for viewers.

The character was presumed dead following her sudden disappearance back in February. She went missing after being sacked from her job at Roy’s Rolls and later being visited by a mystery person, who fans of the ITV soap never got to see.

However, in May it was confirmed that it was Joel Deering who was behind her disappearance. A flashback clip revealed the solicitor as being Lauren’s secret ‘boyfriend’ who was giving her money and gifts before he was seen brutally attacking her with a chair leg.

READ MORE: ITV Coronation Street’s Alan Halsall reveals Tyrone Dobbs ‘deal breaker’ as he says ‘I feel sick’

READ MORE: Read more of our Coronation Street stories here

It has since been confirmed that Lauren amazingly survived the brutal bashing and her return came as she appeared at Roy Cropper’s bedside after he suffered a heart attack. However, Joel found her and dragged her into a family room where they had an intense confrontation where flashback clips revealed what really happened between the pair.

After a scared – and pregnant – Lauren did another runner from Joel, she was eventually found by Joel’s fiancee Dee-Dee Bailey and Bethany Platt and taken to hospital where she was quickly on DS Lisa Swain’s radar.

Since leaving the hospital, Joel has been secretly housing Lauren in his old flat after he moved in with Dee-Dee ahead of their September wedding. However, viewers were horrified to discover that Joel’s plans to get Lauren to Ireland appeared to be a ploy and instead, he ordered tablets and secretly added them to some soup which spurred on her early labour.

Promoted Stories

He had locked her in the flat meaning Lauren was alone and trapped before friend Max Turner eventually came to her rescue and Lauren was later taken to the hospital where she gave birth at six months pregnant to a baby boy.

Amid the dark scenes, which have seen fans fearing for Lauren as Joel’s dark ways continue to haunt her, actor Calum Lill took to social media with a string of snaps that showed the lighter moments in between filming the solicitor’s double life.

The post included a picture of Calum cuddled up with Cait and Vicky Myers, who plays DS Lisa Swain. Cait then shared the photo to her own Instagram Story and said: “A BTS shot we took behind the scenes on one of my first days back, back in April [face holding back tears emoji].”

She continued: “I love working with my people. Hope everyone is enjoying the storyline so far – such a difficult portrayal and hard watch but such an important message and issue raised.” Cait then added: “If you or someone you know has been affected by issues raised click the link below for information, advice and support. itv.com.”