She thought he was out of the picture but Mal Roper is showing no signs of leaving Bernie Winter alone as he returns in next week’s Coronation Street.

As fans of the ITV soap know, Mal’s arrival in Weatherfield earlier this year has caused nothing but trouble for Bernie and last month, when he was attacked, his terrifying behaviour towards her appeared to be over.

But in upcoming scenes, having made a recovery, Mal returns to the cobbles. As Bernie and her husband, Dev Alahan, return from their holiday, their hearts sink when Mal appears and cheerily announces that he intends to stick around for the foreseeable future.

Later, Mal calls at the station and tells DS Lisa Swain that he’s had a memory flashback and knows who attacked him. DC Kit Green receives a message from Lisa summoning him to the station and informing him that Mal has remembered who attacked him. Kit and Bernie share looks of panic, with both aware it was Kit who caused Mal’s accident.

But it seems Kit is in the clear, for now, as it’s Dev who is interviewed for the attack on Mal, while a worried Bernie confides in her daughter, Gemma Winter-Brown, that it was Kit who attacked Mal and it would seem that the only way she can save her husband is if she shops her own son.

Dev is questioned by DS Swain(Image: ITV)

Later, Kit explains to Bernie that there’s no evidence against Dev so nothing for either of them to worry about. But soon, Bernie’s left horrified by a shocking proposition from Mal.

At the Chariot Square, Ryan Connor watches Bernie with concern as she heads down a corridor, knocks on a bedroom door and disappears. Asserting that just being in the same room as her means everything to him, Mal pats the bed for Bernie to sit next to him. As Bernie tries to hide her revulsion, will she go through with Mal’s proposal?

Elsewhere, following Sam Blakeman’s exposing of Megan Walsh, Ben Driscoll calls the family together to discuss Megan’s baby and the fact that she refuses to take a DNA test. When his son, Will, who has been groomed by his running coach, leaps to Megan’s defence, grandmother Maggie loses her rag.

Later, Ben persuades a reluctant Will to attend a counselling session in the hope that he might open up about his relationship with Megan. But ehen Kit reveals that forensics on Will’s and Megan’s phones suggest nothing illegal, Ben and Eva despair.

Ben tries to help Will(Image: ITV)

Meanwhile, Daniel Osbourne, who was in a relationship with Megan, urges Sam to tell the police everything he knows as Megan deserves to be punished. But Hope Dobbs warns Sam that Daniel and Megan are probably in cahoots and it’s best not to tell him anything, leaving Sam more worried than ever.

Will then has a tough day, as when he reveals that he’s now a laughing stock at school, Eva’s concerned for him. Struggling himself, Ben tells Steve McDonald and Tim Metcalfe how he feels he’s let Will down and they should never have trusted Megan. As for Sam, he confides in Hope that he’s binned his phone as he suspects Daniel was tracking his email and it pays to be vigilant.

Also on the cobbles, having sabotaged Todd Grimshaw’s marathon preparation, Theo Silverton joins Sarah Platt, James Bailey, Gemma and Chesney Winter-Brown at the tram stop and tells them that he knocked on Todd’s door but there was no reply and he must have set off already.

In the flat, Todd wakes up groggy and confused and he’s horrified to realise he’s missed the marathon. Later, as Theo returns to the street with his medal, an embarrassed Todd hides from his friends but Theo persuades him to let him in. As Todd despairs at how he’s let everybody down, Theo pulls him in for a hug. Will Todd succumb to Theo once more?

(Image: ITV)

Later, Theo informs Todd that he has a surprise planned for him. Calling at the undertakers dressed to the nines, Theo leads a blindfolded Todd into the register office where Gary and Maria Windass wait. Producing two wedding rings, Theo explains to Todd that they never cancelled their wedding so can still go ahead. How will a shell shocked Todd react?

While it’s not clear if the wedding goes ahead, the following day, Todd’s left with a banging headache following the events of the day before. But Theo’s unimpressed and heads out for a run ad while he’s gone, George Shuttleworth calls for a cuppa.

Soon, Theo returns and, assuming that Todd is in the bathroom, shouts abusive remarks through the door. When Todd arrives with some teabags and George emerges from the bathroom, Theo’s quietly horrified. How will George react?

George is left in an uncomfortable situation(Image: ITV)

Also on the cobbles, Adam Barlow tells Alya Nazir that because of the data breach, they’re losing clients at a rate of knots. Then, when Annie threatens to take her business elsewhere, Adam offers her a no win, no fee deal.

And, Betsy Swain and Dylan Wilson offer to babysit while Carla Connor and Lisa Swain go to work. With Connie asleep, Betsy and Dylan snuggle up on the sofa. But as the week unfolds, Jodie Ramsey offers to mind Connie and assures Carla she’s fully qualified.