Coronation Street fans were left gobsmacked as Stu Carpenter's secret was finally revealed. The character, played by Bill Fellows, made his first appearance in the ITV soap last year and quickly became a hero as the homeless man who found the evidence that brought Corey Brent to justice for Seb Franklin's horrific murder.
But in scenes aired on Friday night (August 5), Stu was revealed as a murderer. While he protests his innocence, viewers will be left wondering who to believe while a horrified Yasmeen Metcalfe tells her granddaughter Alya she never wants to see Stu again.
Despite now being in the soap for almost a year, with Stu settling into life in Weatherfield with a job at Speed Daal and a roof over his head with Yasmeen, not much was known about the character other than that he was estranged from his family and previously worked as a chef in the Navy.
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However, in scenes aired last week, Corrie viewers saw Stu come face-to-face with his daughter Bridget after Yasmeen tracked down her address after Stu was left deflated when his latest gift was returned. But it wasn't a warm welcome, as Bridget panicked and ordered her dad to leave.
Stu begged her to hear him out and assures her that he never hurt anyone but it fell on deaf ears. Later, Stu apologises to Yasmeen for snapping and says it was the wrong address, leaving fans wondering what Stu was hiding. But this week there was excitement in Speed Daal as it was revealed the Gazette wanted to do a story about their leftover food plans.
Suki from the Gazette then calls at Speed Daal and interviews Yasmeen, Stu, Alya and Dev Alahan about their food waste initiative but when Stu reveals that Yasmeen offered him a lifeline when he was homeless, Suki was enthralled. But he was later horrified o discover he was front and centre of the newspaper article.
And the shock continued as later, Stu is horrified to see his ex-wife, Lucy, at Speed Daal. Lucy orders Stu to stay away from Bridget and drops a bombshell secret from Stu’s past as she reminded her ex of Charlie Walter, the young girl he murdered. As Lucy strode out of the restaurant, Stu protested his innocence, explaining to Yasmeen and Alya that he was wrongly imprisoned for the murder of a young girl.
Yasmeen orders him out of the restaurant and was soon seen catching up with Lucy in Victoria Garden where she reveals how Stu confessed to having an affair with a young waitress and killed her. Yasmeen tells Alya that it’s true and she never wants to see Stu again.
Speaking about when he found out about Stu's past Bill, who plays him, said; "When Iain MacLeod [Corrie's producer] first told me the storyline, I thought it was a great storyline and I liked the twist. He then told me that Stu had been in prison for 27 years which surprised me and he told me that Stu had had an affair with a young waitress when he was married and had a child at home and that was a surprise too! But that’s why I call Stu a flawed character and I love this storyline because I love that Stu is flawed, I like that he has made mistakes."
As for whether he had seen anyone correctly guess his character's secret, Bill said: "It’s been really interesting to read what everyone has been saying online and their suspicions of Stu. On social media, someone mentioned that they thought Stu had been in prison, which was correct but no one has guessed why Stu was in prison and no one has guessed how long Stu had been in prison which even now, when I say that it was 27 years, I think, 'Wow, that is a lifetime.'"
Now, it's all about Stu proving his innocence. "The first major thing is to try and get the people he loves and cares about to believe him; Yasmeen, Alya and Zeedan," Bill says. "Without giving the game away, there are loads of twists and turns in this storyline, it’s not just that Stu needs to prove his innocence… There are loads of elements to this story that come into play. This bombshell has blown up now."
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