Coronation Street has seemingly ruled out an official suspect in the murder case of Theo Silverton, but fans were left taken aback at where the sudden alibi had come from, and others do not believe it at all.
Surprise Twist in Murder Investigation
The evil scaffolder, played by former Tracy Beaker star James Cartwright, had tormented Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) for almost a year and was found dead at the end of a much-hyped Murder Week, in which he was one of five antagonists who could have been killed off. Shortly after the dramatic night, programme bosses revealed that Todd himself, Theo's colleague Gary Windass (Mikey Norton), Todd's surrogate father George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley), his partner Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins), and Theo's ex-wife Danielle Anderson, played by former Emmerdale star Natalie Anderson, were the official suspects.
On the night of the murder, Danielle was delivering Lisa and Carla's wedding cake, but it had been noticed that she had parked her car on the street for an abnormally long time.
Lisa Swain Under Fire
DS Lisa Swain, who has a history of locking up innocent people, was shocked when Todd told her she was rubbish at her job. Determined to get his daughter Summer out of trouble, Todd asked Lisa why she had not arrested Danielle over the death of her ex-husband. Lisa replied: "She's got dashcam footage, and her alibi checks out. She wasn't even at the scene when Theo was killed." When Sarah asked where that left Summer, Lisa refused to comment.
Unable to accept that, Todd later called at number six, where Lisa told him: "Look, I know it's a distressing time for you, and, yes, we're neighbours but you can't just rock up at my door. I told you before about Danielle. There is video evidence of her leaving the street. She's in the clear." When Todd protested that did not mean Summer was guilty, Lisa snapped back: "It doesn't mean that she's not!" She then told Todd she had to rush off for a night shift. He said: "Fine, I'll come with you and see if I can get my phone back," and this stopped Lisa in her tracks. He reminded her: "You lot took it in as evidence. It's useless to you, so I'd like it back, please. Maybe you can do one thing right."
Phone Evidence Goes Missing
When Lisa said she had no idea where the phone had gone, Todd said: "Of course, sorry, I mean, you're only the detective! If my phone's gone walkies, that's significant, surely? If it's disappeared, you need to look into that. You really do stink at your job!" Lisa's wife Carla then asked him to leave, and he did. Once he had gone, Lisa explained: "No phone was retrieved that night, so where did it go?" As she spoke, a flashback played over dramatic music, showing a gloved individual with a phone in their hands whilst seated in a car.
Fan Reactions
Taking to social media, one fan said: "Danielle is definitely hiding something," whilst another said: "No one's mentioning CCTV, Todd & Theo's ring camera etc. when it comes to the murder but did mention it to give Danielle an alibi because #corrie wants to drag this out until the end of the month so then mentioning the phone means it will lead us to the next phase." One said: "I think it was Danielle." Another said: "I think it was Danielle simply because Swain, AKA the world's most incompetent copper, has put her in the clear and she's usually wrong. I cheered when Todd said what we were all thinking - she is crap at her job." Taking to X, another said: "Todd is right, Lisa is s*** at her job at the moment - just reveal the killer already, stop dragging s*** out."
Others were simply surprised at Danielle's apparent alibi, with one writing: "Wait, Danielle delivered Carla and Lisa's wedding cake?! This is news to me," as another said: "The reason Danielle was dropping Carla & Lisa’s wedding cake off is because her job is 'event organiser'. Although it's hard to know what her job was when the writers don't develop characters properly any more, don't give them personalities. They are all so bland."
Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream from 7am on ITV X.
