Coronation Street fans are convinced they know who will take down evil newcomer Ross Wilkes. Viewers believe schoolgirl Hope Stape will be the one to expose his true colours, after his bullying behaviour and manipulation of his son Tyrone Dobbs.
Ross's Arrival and Threats
Tyrone Dobbs' prison officer dad, played by Ian Burfield, arrived in Weatherfield earlier this year after bumping into his ex Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney) for the first time in over 40 years. Ross later met his family, including Tyrone (Alan Halsall) and his grandchildren Dorin, Ruby and step-grandchild Hope, but the evil newcomer quickly used Cassie's promiscuous past against her.
Tyrone witnessed Ross and Cassie arguing, and blamed Cassie, saying he wants to get to know his father better. Cassie exposed Ross' true nature in late July, saying he paid her for sex. Ross later apologised to Cassie saying he was redeemed, but when she was on her own putting rubbish out in the ginnel, he threatened to kill her if she tried to destroy any relationship between him and his son again. Ross later drove Cassie out of town and she hasn't been seen or heard of since.
Fans Predict Hope's Role
In recent weeks, Ross has bonded with his son Tyrone, and grandchildren but Fiz Dobbs (Jennie McAlpine) has been on to him and has quickly seen through him. Ross has been spending quality time boxing with his grandson Dorin but he was later seen throwing the youngster's teddy bear Shirley away from him when no one was around, bullying his grandson. He's seemingly trying to mould Tyrone into what he believes is an alpha male, what society correctly knows is a toxic personality.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan penned: "I hope Hope pushes him down the stairs.." Another added: "Bad Hope to the rescue." A third person said: "Let's hope Hope turns on Ross".
Hope's Troubled History
Schoolgirl Hope (Isabella Flanagan) has become one of Coronation Street's most notorious and unpredictable troublemakers over the years. As the 15-year-old daughter of Tyrone's wife Fiz and physical education teacher turned serial killer John Stape, her character has consistently shocked viewers with an escalating history of dark, sinister, and anti-social behaviour.
Over the years, her most significant and shocking acts of bad behaviour on the cobbles have spanned from childhood maliciousness to teenage rebellion from setting the Underworld factory on fire in 2019 to using a mini-digger to smash a car windscreen so she is not someone to be messed with.
Recent Tensions
During Friday's (October 23) episode, Fiz remained suspicious of Ross. She was left fuming when she learned her father-in-law stopped Tyrone from leaving the pub, resulting in the mechanic coming home drunk and missing the movie night that he had planned with his other half. When Tyrone reveals that Ross confiscated his phone, Fiz confronted Ross and accuses him of sabotaging the family film night on purpose.
Audiences are still in the dark about what Ross has done to Tyrone's mum Cassie after he gave her a lift out of Weatherfield. Cassie hasn't been heard of since, is he more dangerous than we think? Coronation Street airs weeknights on ITV1 at 8.30pm and is available to stream from 7am on ITVX.
