Coronation Street fans finally got the answer to what happened to Lauren Bolter, who disappeared from

the soap earlier this year – plus the actress who plays her reveals how she kept her return a secret.

Months after she disappeared from the cobbles, Lauren Bolton has returned to Coronation Street –

with the actress who plays her, Cait Fitton, revealing the extreme lengths she went to to keep her return a secret.

Cait said she had to hide in the boot of her co-star’s car so she wasn’t spotted when filming. “I had to sneak in and out the building, getting lifts from Calum Lill [who plays Joel] but having to get in the boot to make sure I wasn’t being seen,” laughed Cait, 22.

“People would be at the front getting selfies, I’d be in the boot still. So it was a bit chaotic! It was like a massive game of twister in that boot, it was tiny.

“There were times when I had to get on the floor in a taxi, the driver was wondering what’s going on – and I’d just shout go go go! It was mad. Fun but mental. I never thought I would have to be doing that to get into work,” she said.

Last night, fans of the soap finally learned what happened to the missing Lauren, who hasn’t appeared on the soap since March. It was revealed that Joel was behind Lauren’s disappearance after she fell victim to his abusive behaviour.

She returned to our screens last night to be beside Roy Cropper as he lay in hospital following a heart attack. Lauren apologised to Roy, as he had been accused of her murder and spent time in jail.

Even though he was later cleared of the crime, he struggled to deal with the trauma, and his recent heart attack resulted in him falling into a coma.

“I knew from very early on I was coming back, which is such a fortunate position to be in in this industry because once you finish a job you don’t know what’s going to happen after that. It’s been a whirlwind of emotions,” she told The Mirror.

Cait even tried to throw fans off the scent by changing her Instagram bio to ‘used to play Lauren’.

“Everyone was like ‘has she left?’ I was ‘Yes I’m gone now I’m finished!’ The amount of people so invested in the storyline, it’s been a breath of fresh air. With Roy getting arrested for murder, then the reveal of Joel, it’s been an amazing storyline to be part of. But it has made it really tough. I started back in April, by that point obviously no one knows that I’m filming.”

“We filmed on location. That was a bit stressful. It felt like the Men in Black, I was in one of the big black coats, black sunglasses. The fact I wasn’t seen was a miracle. It’s been great. The support I’ve had online has been amazing. People messaging saying hope you’re not leaving the show we love what you did with the character, hearing that gives a reassurance.”

Cait’s character Lauren first appeared in the ITV soap two years ago and she was only meant to be on the show for three months, where her character was a member of a far right gang.

Now, she’s at the centre of the soap’s biggest storyline, which analyses the relationship between Lauren and solicitor Joel, who has displayed coercive and controlling behaviour.

Now, Cait has revealed she worked with the Maggie Oliver charity, which helps survivors of abuse, for the storyline. Cait added she met with women who had been groomed and abused, just like her character Lauren.

“It was awful to hear what they’d been through. The women were so inspiring. Even though they’d been through all this trauma, they turn pain into power. Just because you go through something traumatic, it doesn’t define who you are. That’s what’s so important, especially for Lauren, the trauma doesn’t make her less of a person compared to someone else.”

“When I heard these stories and how disconnected these people were with their stories, it touched me. It made me go ‘I need to do this justice now’. You can be a voice for people and bring it into our living rooms “Corrie is a big platform. Younger people that watch it, older people. From this storyline if I can make just one person speak up, I’ve done my job.”