Coronation Street fans were left confused as Gary Windass' punishment for helping Sarah Platt cover up the murder of Theo Silverton was confirmed, leading to his wife, Maria, kicking off.
Those who follow the ITV soap, which is filmed in Salford, were made aware in June that Sarah was the one responsible for killing the abusive builder, weeks after his lifeless body was found by a horrified Betsy Swain on the night of her mum, Lisa Swain's, wedding to Carla Connor in April.
The Murder Investigation and Trial
Theo's death triggered a murder investigation, with Corrie confirming Theo's husband, Todd Grimshaw, as a suspect, along with his loved ones, George Shuttleworth, Summer Spellman, Christina Boyd, as well as Theo's friend-turned enemy, Gary Windass, and Theo's ex-wife, Danielle Silverton.
But weeks after the 'whodunnit' got underway, flashback scenes revealed that it was none of the six, and that it was Sarah who appeared to deal the blow that sent a drunk Theo tumbling off the scaffolding outside his flat and plummeting to the ground - before she called on her former flame, Gary, for help.
Sarah tried to keep quiet, for both her and Gary's sakes, but keeping her killer secret got too much for Sarah and as Todd, her best friend, struggled in the aftermath of his abusive husband's murder, she ended up confessing the truth of her crime to him, while her partner, DC Kit Green, found out when she admitted to killing Theo as he was trying to pop the question.
Despite Kit's attempts to help cover up her crime, Sarah was arrested on suspicion of killing Theo. She was later charged as the evidence stacked against her, and Sarah ended up admitting to the murder, telling DS Lisa Connor-Swain it was in self-defence.
Sarah was then held on remand until she could appear in court, with the trial seen taking place in last week's episodes of Corrie. Her fate, however, was confirmed during Monday's (October 19) episode of Corrie, when the jury found Sarah not guilty.
Gary's Sentence and Maria's Reaction
As she headed home, it was Gary's turn to discover his fate in Tuesday's (October 20) visit to Weatherfield, and he was sentenced to eight months in prison for perverting the course of justice in connection with the murder of Theo.
Gary was taken to his cell at Highfield Prison, where he was immediately forced to confront a tense new reality behind bars. Meanwhile, Corrie viewers saw a furious Maria taking matters into her own hands in a dramatic Bistro showdown.
She was seen throwing a Manchester tart into Sarah's face. When Bethany and Todd intervened, Maria pushed them aside, knocking Bethany, who is pregnant, to the floor and injuring her wrist.
Later, an emotional phone call saw Gary urge Maria to stay strong for their family, leaving Maria vowing to stand by her husband. But with Gary back behind bars, can he quietly serve his eight months, or is his dark past about to resurface?
Fan Reactions to the Sentence
But it was as the scenes aired that Corrie fans expressed their confusion over Gary's sentence. @_sammymfs said: "Wait so gary is doing time for concealing a murder weapon in a case a jury just found wasn't actually a murder?" @missmollybruton replied: "I think it's because it was intentional. They found Sarah not guilty of murder in the sense of she went there to do it, but it was self defence and there was still a murder weapon which Gary them hid/disposed of," while @thechanelbootss admitted: "Don't question it he deserves it."
Meanwhile, they were left amused by Maria and Sarah's new feud. @sadlatimer posted: "Crying at maria and sarah this ep and maria just going at her every chance she gets." @thechanelbootss wrote: "Maria gobbing off at Sarah at every chance in today's Corrie. excellent." @WayhaughtLunar added: "Maria is now one of my faves putting the Platt’s in their place! Hope we see her go after them even more! #Corrie."
