Coronation Street fans think they know what Richie Parkinson is hiding after he lost his temper with Tim Metcalfe in a prison visiting room confrontation.
Those who follow the ITV soap, which is filmed in Salford, only saw Richie for the first time earlier this month, when cabbie Tim was surprised to pick up his cousin, whom he hadn't seen in years, as a fare in the precinct.
Richie's Arrival and the Confrontation
With his wife, Sally, away, Tim invited Richie over for drinks with the lads. But when they left, Richie confided in Tim about his unhappy marriage. Tim offered him a place to stay for the night, which Richie accepted, but had had to make himself scarce following Sally's return.
With Sally not keen on him sticking around, Tim advised Richie to try to sort things out with his wife, Rachel, so he headed home, but he accidentally left his wallet behind. When Tim returned later on, he was left in shock as he saw Richie's shirt covered in blood and Rachel lying lifeless on the floor.
Charges and Family Turmoil
The next time we saw Tim and his wife, Sally, in Weatherfield, they sat in shocked silence after a sleepless night. Soon, DS Lisa Connor-Swain called round and confirmed that they had charged Richie with the murder of his wife.
Richie's daughter, Lucy, was taken into care, while Richie claims he acted in self-defence. Lucy has since ended up in Tim and Sally's care, after her placement fell through and Tim felt like he needed to look out for his previously unseen family member.
During Thursday's (August 20) episode of Corrie, Sally told Tim that social services were happy for them to continue fostering, but Tim was more concerned that he'd had a request to visit Richie in prison.
Prison Visit and Fan Theories
In the visiting room, Richie told Tim that his wife Rachel had attacked him, and that she had been abusing him, and that he wanted him to tell other people that she was like that. When Tim pointed out his didn't know her, a frustrated Richie replied: "I need to convince them I acted in self-defence... I need to get out of here to look after my daughter. I need you to do this."
When Tim refused, Richie grew angry and looked like he was going to go for Tim, before prison guard Ross Wilkes stepped in and defused the situation.
Once back at home, Tim told Sally what had happened, and expressed his uncertainty that his cousin is telling the truth about what had been happening between him and his wife. However, the couple were interrupted by Lucy, who demanded to know why Tim didn't tell her about the prison visit.
It comes as Corrie fans have theorised that maybe Lucy was responsible for her mother's death, and that Richie is trying to protect her. And they were quick to share this theory again following Richie's latest scenes.
@RyanSoapKing25 said: "I still think Lucy killed her mum and not Richie. #Corrie." @EileenCumi28050 commented: "I think Lucy killed her mother and her dad Richie is covering for her. #corrie." @cormachanleyking posted: "Richie is definitely protecting lucy from going to jail since she's the one that killed her mom." @aaronsharp123 added: "I still think Richie is covering for Lucy, I can't see he's like Geoff."
