Coronation Street fans have uncovered a surprising link between Elaine and soap legend Tracy Barlow.
Tim's mother Elaine - played by Paula Wilcox - returned to the ITV soap tonight as Tim prepares to undergo his triple heart bypass surgery but viewers of the show were distracted by Elaine's connection to Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford).
Tim has been keeping his health issues secret from everyone close to him - including wife Sally Metcalfe and his own mum Elaine.
She first joined the soap in 2020 as she vowed to help Yasmeen take down her abusive ex-husband Geoff. The pair remained firm friends after sharing their ordeals with one another.
However, as Elaine arrived to support her son, fans were distracted by her link to Tracy.
Actress Paula actually appeared on the soap a number of years ago as Janice Langton, back in 1969. Janice will be best known to viewers at home after running away from her probation officer before she stole a car and was evicted.
Janice was Ray Langton's sister, meaning that as that character, she was actually Tracy's auntie.
One fan took to Twitter to point out the link between the two characters: "@itvcorrie I can't believe Tim's mum Elaine used to be Ray Langton's sister in a previous life. So that means she's Tracy's auntie!"
Last week, Tim and Sally reached a crunch point in their relationship when she admitted she couldn't trust him.
"Don't expect anymore from me than a hand to hold or a glass of water," she said, "I don't know where we go from here. If you couldn't tell me something as huge as this then it obviously means you don't trust me and if you don't trust me then I can't trust you."
There have been huge disagreements in the writers' room around the fate of Tim and Sally.
Soaps expert Sharon Marshall said: "Before Christmas, there was this big Corrie press conference and the writers admitted this was the subject of a huge debate in the writers' room.
"There were arguments - some of the team do want to, but there have been some who don't. What we will see is that she will become more and more paranoid, she will put a tracker on his phone, she will start to think Tim is having an affair.
"He is spending lots of time with Aggie, because she is a nurse, and he is spending time with her. But I hope they don't."
