Coronation Street fans have been left "appalled" after Tyrone Dobbs lied to the police in Friday night's episode. The mechanic, played by Alan Halsall since 1998, is the latest Weatherfield resident to get caught up in the dramatic aftermath following the murder of Theo Silverton.
Murder of Theo Silverton
Theo, portrayed by former Tracy Beaker star James Cartwright, was killed off at the end of the soap's much-hyped Murder Week after nearly a year of abusing partner Todd Grimshaw. Along with Todd himself, George Shuttleworth, Gary Windass, Summer Spellman, Christina Boyd, and Danielle Silverton were named as official suspects.
In recent episodes, DS Lisa Swain, who has a habit of locking innocent people up, became convinced that Summer was behind the murder. The university student struggled to prove otherwise, especially after her brooch was found in Theo's flat.
Summer's Desperation
Summer was already furious with Theo before his death because she discovered he was responsible for the death of her other dad, Billy, in the soap's crossover with Emmerdale. In another police interview on the latest episode of the crime-heavy ITV soap, Swain confronted Summer: "The truth is that Forensics have returned the samples taken from your brooch, and they indicate traces of Theo's blood on it. Would you like to explain how Theo's blood ended up on your brooch?"
On the verge of tears, Summer replied: "It must have... come off when he had hold of me. I mean, I don't remember it coming off, but it must have been then. I'd gone around to see Todd, but Theo was the only one there. I mean, he was acting like... like, psychotic!"
Summer told Swain that Tyrone had seen her on the night of the murder and could prove that when she left the flat, Theo was still alive. Swain marched to number nine to ask Tyrone, but he denied ever seeing her.
Tyrone's Lie
Swain took Tyrone's word for it and returned to Summer's cell, where she charged her with murder and informed her she would soon be transferred to prison. However, a flashback in Summer's head revealed that Theo was alive when she left the flat. Another flashback in Tyrone's head confirmed that he had seen her that night and lied to Swain about it. The reason remains unclear, but some fans speculate that Tyrone might have dropped a car on Carl Webster in the garage that night as revenge for running him over and leaving him in a wheelchair last year.
One fan took to social media to express outrage, writing on Reddit: "He has lied to the police and landed a young woman in prison for a crime she did not commit. At a time when she’s vulnerable too after losing two of her dads and the third dad dealing with being the victim of domestic abuse and coercive control. He really can be despicable a lot of the time and I can’t wait for the truth to come out. There are no excuses for what he has done. I hope that in addition to the criminal charges he will get, the whole street treats him like a pariah. I just hope him and Fiz don’t go into victim mode like they always do."
Another added: "I was appalled when he lied. I hadn't even considered that he was the one to drop the car on Carl, hence why he was outside, but it all adds up. I'm surprised that they didn't think to check the doorbell footage for the flat though."
A third commented: "I admire Alan Halsall’s perpetual youth but damn, Tyrone is crossing a line here in not coming to Summer’s defense." A fourth said: "Tyrone is being utterly cowardly. He could easily explain the whole thing away as an accident with a good lawyer and Carl was tampering with the car's brakes in a bid to get back at Kevin, so I doubt he'll be pointing the finger at anyone soon anyway because yes, what were you doing underneath the car in the first place, Carl? lol"
Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream from 7am on ITV X.
