Coronation Street fans were amazed to notice a major breakthrough for troubled Sam Blakeman.
Little Sam stopped speaking after his mum Natasha Blakeman was brutally gunned down in a case of mistaken identity last October.
His father Nick Tilsley and Nick's partner Leanne Battersby were deeply concerned that the chatty 10-year-old stopped speaking after his mum's death.
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There was finally some joy at Christmas when Nick and Leanne overheard Sam talking to pal Hope Stape through walkie-talkies she was given for Christmas, although only briefly.
In Wednesday night's double bill Corrie viewers were overjoyed to see Sam back on sparkling form and holding a proper conversation with Amy Barlow.
As she walked into Roy's cafe she pointed at the empty seat opposite him and asked: "Anyone sitting there?"
And Sam, played by Jude Riordan, replied cheekily: "Not at this precise moment no."
He then apologised and asked Amy how she was feeling after she had her drink spiked.
And Sam raised the subject of her secretly dating reformed bad boy Jacob Hay, a former drug dealer who roped her cousin Simon into Harvey Gaskell's drugs gang.
It was Harvey, played by Will Mellor, who killed his mum after mistaking her for Simon's mum Leanne.
"She couldn't work out why someone as bright as you would go out with someone who could lock people in a car boot or be friends with the man who killed my mum," Sam told a crestfallen Amy.
"It's not as simple as that Sam," she said.
Fans flocked to Twitter to remark on the exchange.
@Jodi_Rushworth asked: "When did Sam start speaking again?"
@DavidMackayy also wondered: "Since when did Sam start speaking again?"
@liamjmellor80 asked: "I’ve missed a few episodes. When did Sam start talking?"
@amz07 exclaimed: "Omg Sam is talking! When did that happen?!"
@GeorgiaBowring tweeted: "Corrie when did Sam start talking again I missed that!"
And @RyanGTweetsTV said: "It's great to see Sam talking again."
