Coronation Street residents are in for a shock next week when a major character is found dead –

and it is confirmed that they were murdered. Determined to make some headway

in the Joel Deering (Calum Lill) case, Craig Tinker (Colson Smith)

and Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) scour the CCTV of a train station car park, where they are shocked to spot Joel and then his dad, Gus, around a locker.

Kit then pulls Gus in for questioning, before he is hit with a much more sinister revlation.

When three lads spot a body in the water from a riverbank, Craig pays a visit to Kit and DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) and announces that they have found Joel’s body.

Joel has been missing since September 27, having apparently staged his own suicide. While Lisa was adamant that Joel really had taken his own life, Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) insisted that it had all been a setup.

As Kit steels himself to break the news to Dee-Dee and Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton), Lisa announces Joel’s death to the Rovers’ punters.

Later, Kit calls back at the hospital to give Lauren some shocking news from the post-mortem: Joel was dead before he entered the water.

Because of this, his death is now a murder investigation – but who was responsible?

As Kit questions Lauren about her whereabouts on the night of Joel’s death, Dee-Dee informs Ed and Ronnie Bailey (Trevor Michael Georges and Vinta Morgan) that Joel has been killed.

Despite Lisa having been taken off Joel’s case, Kit keeps her updated by revealing that Joel suffered two blows to the head from a heavy weapon, most likely a crowbar.

When Lisa later discovers from Yasmeen Metcalfe (Shelley King) that she threw Mason Radcliffe (Luca Toolan) out because he had a crowbar, she warns an intrigued Betsy Swain (Sydney Martin) to stay away from him.

Having been warned by Betsy that the police are onto him, Mason disposes of the crowbar behind the factory, but is caught in the act by Kit.

Elsewhere, Dee-Dee updates Ed and Ronnie with the information about the crowbar.

After rumbling Debbie Webster’s (Sue Devaney) plans for a surprise party for his 55th birthday, Ronnie’s good mood falters when Kit arrives to question him and Ed.

Ronnie swears that he spent the night of Joel’s murder alone, while Ed claims he was at No.3 with Dee-Dee and Michael Bailey (Ryan Russell).

Ronnie then reveals that he last used his satnav when he and Michael helped Joel move out of his flat, but when Ryan later reveals that they actually drove his car, Debbie realises that Ronnie has lied.

What will she do, and what is he hiding?