Coronation Street fans saw Yasmeen Nazir experience a change of heart on her relationship with Stu Carpenter, after throwing him out upon learning he had served time for murder.
The former homeless man was then thrown behind bars by Craig Tinker for breaching the peace on the cobbles, as Yasmeen (Shelley King) watched on.
However, she is now determined to clear the Speed Daal chef’s (Bill Fellows) name of the accusation of murdering his former lover Charlie.
Yasmeen’s U-turn was triggered by her grandchildren's fight for the truth, which saw Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) riffling through old case files alongside Adam Barlow on Wednesday evening’s episode.
Alya stumbled across another apparent break in the case, after previously stumbling upon the former navy's interview tapes, prompting Adam to point out that Stu was questioned for over ten hours, in a clear breach of protocol and indicating he was coerced into making a confession.
On Wednesday evening’s episode, Alya discovered that the cause of Charlie’s death was listed as a blunt trauma to the head, but there was no record of blood on her body or internal injuries – implying the body could have been moved in an attempt to frame someone.
Adam, clearly impressed, told Alya: “You might be onto something there. Keep digging.”
However, Coronation Street fans were slightly baffled by the sudden turn of events which saw Alya crack the cold case.
Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “How can Alya come up with something in 5 minutes but everybody else on Stu's case failed to spot?” as a second chimed: “Alya is suddenly a legal expert finding evidence that the real experts missed.”
Another added: “30yrs on and detective Alya busts the case wide open,” as a fourth wrote: “How long before Alya becomes Legally Brunette…”
In later scenes on Wednesday evening, Alya had put pressure on Yasmeen to allow him back at No.6, which she agreed to and so eagerly waited for Stu to come out of prison, much to his surprise.
In Victoria Garden, she told Stu she believes he's innocent and insisted that he must let Bridget know his intentions to appeal his conviction.
However, despite the fact that Yasmeen, Alya and Zeedan are starting to believe Stu’s innocence, other Weatherfield residents are not so easily convinced.
Upon his return to the cobbles, Stu was met with hostility from Dev Alahan and Bernie Winter, who said he didn’t belong on the street – but Yasmeen stood her ground and told him to bring his bags inside.
