Coronation Street fans were left doing a double take as they tuned into an episode of Emmerdale this week, thinking they had spotted the iconic villain Pat Phelan on their screens once more.
Pat, played by Connor McIntyre, was a legendary cobbles antagonist who first appeared in 2013. He was introduced as an associate of builder Owen Armstrong, later entering into business with him, which proved to be part of his vendetta against Owen and Gary Windass. Pat's campaign of terror continued as he confronted Gary and his mother Anna, before committing numerous other offences, including swindling residents out of their savings and being responsible for the deaths of Michael Rodwell, Luke Britton, and Andy Carver.
Pat's dramatic exit
The villain departed the cobbles in 2018 when he was fatally stabbed by Anna during a brutal final confrontation. Now, more than eight years later, some fans were astonished to see what they thought was Pat on screen again.
In Emmerdale, Joe Tate was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following an assault on Billy Fletcher at the depot. At the start of Monday's episode, Joe received a visit from a police officer in his cell. DS Byrne conducted a formal interview with Joe, who maintained his innocence despite having recently discovered that Billy had attempted to kiss his fiancée, Dawn.
Fans spot the resemblance
After watching the episode, viewers were quick to notice DS Byrne's remarkable similarity to Pat Phelan. One Reddit user wrote: "And I thought Pat Phelan joined another soap! It actually wasn't, but he did look like the brother of Connor McIntyre (who played him in Corrie). His name on the credits on Monday's episode was Dana Haqjoo (who played DS Byrne)."
Another added: "The Almighty King that was Patrick Phelan." A third fan questioned: "That's not Pat surely?" with someone else replying: "Nah, of course not, although for a second I thought he was a lookalike." Another viewer similarly shared: "He's got those unmistakable eyes!"
Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX, followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm.
