Coronation Street viewers have been left praising the soap after they branded it the

“best episode this year” following Lauren and Joel’s showdown. Corrie viewers have reacted

to the lastest instalment of the soap, hailing it the “best episode this year.”

The drama ramped up a notch this week with the shock return of Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton), who had been off the radar for months, leading many to fear she was dead. Fans will remember her mysterious exit from the street after being sacked from Roy’s Rolls.

But it wasn’t until last month that the soap dropped the bombshell that dodgy lawyer Joel Deering (Calum Lill) was behind Lauren’s vanishing act.

In a twist that had fans on the edge of their seats during Monday’s show (July 7), it turned out Lauren is very much alive and has been laying low all this time. She made a surprise appearance at Roy Cropper’s hospital bedside after he suffered a heart attack earlier that day.

Lauren made her return

Then, in a nail-biting scene in Tuesday’s episode (July 8), Lauren tried to leg it from the hospital but got caught by her assailant Joel, who shoved her into a family room, reports the Express.

The episode was peppered with flashbacks that filled in the gaps about Lauren’s ordeal and her entanglement with the vile solicitor. Joel had slithered into her life by sorting out her financial woes and then manipulated her.

On the fateful day she disappeared, Joel lost his cool when Lauren brought up his now-fiancee Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) and brutally attacked her with a series of blows to the head.

Believing he’d killed her, Joel scarpered, but little did he know, Lauren had only played dead and has since been hiding out, scared for her life.

However, in a shocking turn of events at the hospital, Joel attempted to assault Lauren again, who was seen clutching her stomach. In a surprising revelation, Lauren informed Joel that she was five months pregnant with his child, but she didn’t want him involved.

In a dramatic escape, Lauren managed to flee the hospital with Joel hot on her heels, leading to some seriously tense moments. The episode concluded with Lauren making a quick getaway in a taxi.

Viewers have been sharing their reactions to the latest episode on social media. One fan posted on a Facebook fan page: “Tonight’s episode is one of the best in a long time.”

Meanwhile, on X, previously known as Twitter, another viewer tweeted: “Tonight’s #Corrie is crowned best of the year for myself. a flashback episode that explains all! “.