Coronation Street fans have been aware of Theo Silverton’s vile abuse of Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) for a while now, but his dastardly behaviour came as a shock to viewers of Corriedale – especially the ones who recognised actor James Cartwright from his previous high-profile role.

For months now, Theo has been manipulating, gaslighting and controlling boyfriend Todd, with his abuse turning violent on multiple occasions.

At the end of last week, vicar Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) finally learnt the truth about Todd’s ordeal, after seeing his bruises. After finding video footage of Theo abusing Todd, Billy managed to convince him to leave.

However, their plan to sneak away from Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) and Ronnie Bailey’s (Vinta Morgan) wedding early hit a snag when Theo caught on, and joined them on the minibus.

Over the course of their journey, it dawned on Theo that Billy knew the truth about what had been going on behind closed doors, leaving both Billy and Todd in a dangerous situation.

When the minibus got caught up in the multi-vehicle pile-up that kicked off Corriedale, Billy ended up trapped inside. With the bus on fire, he raced to free himself, finally managing to unbuckle his seatbelt.

Horrifyingly, Theo had crawled back into the bus and buckled Billy back in, destroying his hopes of making it out alive. Sure enough, the vehicle exploded moments later with the vicar trapped inside.

This came as a huge shock to many, including Twitter/X user Wanda, who was horrified that a recognisable face from her childhood was now a killer.

There was also recognition from countless other fans, who recognised James from his time on CBBC smash hit children’s series The Story Of Tracy Beaker, which is based on the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson.

They were absolutely baffled that James had played such vastly different characters in his career, with some refusing to believe it was the same person.