Coronation Street is set to be embroiled in a stabbing horror when a crazed knifeman arrives in Weatherfield intent on killing Maria Connor. As fans of the ITV soap know, the character, played by Samia Longchambon, hasn't had the easiest of rides since deciding to become a councillor.
She faced backlash from the refuse collectors last year after she drew up plans to change the recycling collections. She subsequently ended up being the subject of a shock deep fake video that saw her head horribly photoshopped onto a naked woman which was later seen by her son, Liam.
More recently, after setting out to help refugees after meeting Daryan, Marie became the target of the extremist group led by eco-warrior Griff and his gang of mates who groomed Max. The storyline appeared to have ended when the racist gang planted a bomb in the middle of the street with disaster only avoided thanks to Alya who drove her bomb-loaded van away to an area of wasteland before it blew up.
And Alya looks set to come to the rescue again as she is stabbed while wrestling with teenager Blake who, fired up with hatred, has gone to an event organised to highlight the Weatherfield refugee drop in centre Councillor Connor has been campaigning for.
In scenes to air in Corrie on Wednesday night (January 25), viewers will see that Blake is live streaming his intent to disrupt the event, but as Max watches the video he sees his fellow teen reveal a knife and races to Speed Daal to try and warn everyone.
When Maria's husband Gary Windass, who still has no time for David Platt's son, blocks him from entering the restaurant, Max can only watch from the doorway as Blake runs towards Maria brandishing the knife.
When Alya spots what is happening she jumps in front of Blake and he stabs her in the stomach. As she falls to the floor the horrified guests realise what is happening and run out into the street as Gary and Daryan battle with Blake who is still brandishing the knife.
Alya is then rushed to hospital for a life-saving operation. But will she pull through? The attack marks the climax of the recent hard hitting storyline which has highlighted the grooming of disenfranchised and impressionable young men.
The storyline is said to have encompassed the "traditional" recruitment techniques of extremists groups, as viewers saw Max befriended in person by older, mentor-like figures that gave him a sense of loyalty and brotherhood.
As a result, Max became more estranged from his family and fell under the spell of Griff who used Max’s video and computer skills to spread their racist propaganda. When Max realised the true nature of Griff’s actions he alerted the residents to a bomb planted in Speed Daal's van and Alya saved dozens of lives when she drove the van away from the street.
But in a shocking twist for the teenager he is arrested this week as Blake makes it clear that it was Max’s videos that inspired him to carry out the shocking attack.
In upcoming episodes, Corrie fans will see Max try to come to terms with the consequences of his actions and his attempts to explain his involvement with the group to David and the police, as he faces a lengthy jail sentence for incitement to commit murder.
Producer Iain Macleod has commented: "We are exploring a very 21st Century problem: teenagers self-radicalising through watching extreme content online. In the end, we wanted this to be a story about communication within families - what are the right and wrong ways to talk to younger family members who are gravitating towards extreme views?"
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