Twitter was awash with heart emojis from Coronation Street fans as they fell in love with a new character on Easter Monday. Corrie viewers fell head over heels as they were introduced to cute pooch Freddie who instantly stole the show as he made his debut in Roy's Rolls.
Freddie looks set to be the pawfect addition to the ITV soap, fimed in Trafford, after the recent devastating death of Evelyn Plummer's faithful companion Cerberus the greyhound after he gobbled up an Eccles cake Roy Cropper had accidentally dropped in his cafe.
Freddie the Shih Tzu bounded into Roy's life after he headed off to visit a local bat roost with his friend Melvyn. He ended up taking him in after Melvyn sadly took a funny turn.
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One soap watcher @toniearlybird exclaimed: "That dog is so damn cute!" @blue_laur11 remarked: "I never thought I’d see Roy with a dog." @mishybabez_ said: "Roy holding a dog is the cutest thing ever." And @JamieSummersTV said: "That dog is fantastic."
However Evelyn, who cried as she said goodbye to her boy after he suffered kidney failure and blamed Roy for dropping the food which is poisonous to dogs, was typically sharp-tonged about the new bundle of fur.
"It's not really a dog is it?" she asked. "It's a guinea pig with identity issues," she sniped. But fans think Freddie may end up melting Evelyn's heart and could eventually find a home with her.
@JamieSummersTV asked: "I wonder if that'll end up being Evelyn's new dog?" @DavidMackayy tweeted: "Oh let’s guess - Roy’s gonna give that dog to Evelyn."
On Wednesday a clearly exhausted Roy later admits to Shona Platt that Freddie kept him up all night with his barking. He confides in Evelyn that Melvyn tragically died and he’s inherited Freddie on a permanent basis.
So when Roy reveals that he’s dropped Freddie at the dogs’ home, Evelyn is horrified. However, he has a change of heart and he announces that Freddie will be returning to live with him on a permanent basis, and Evelyn reckons he’s made the right decision.
In February actor David Neilson, who plays Roy, teased about his new 'furry friend' to replace co-star Mollie Gallagher, who plays his niece Nina Lucas, while she was showcasing her skating talents on the ITV skating contest Dancing On Ice. David was in the audience to to cheer on Mollie during Props Week on the show earlier this year, and Dancing On Ice host Holly Willoughby asked if David had ever had a mishap involving a prop.
He replied: "Quite recently while Mollie has been doing this I've got a little friend to take her place while shes here." He added: "I can't say much because she's not on screen yet but I had this little thing on my hand and it left a little mess."
Freddie follows in the pawprints of other much-loved Corrie dogs including Chesney Brown's Schmeichel the Great Dane, named after Manchester United and Manchester City goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, and the Barlow family's beloved border terrier Eccles who had to be put to sleep in 2020. Schmeichel, who famously climbed into Les Battersby and Cilla Brown's bath, causing it to plunge through the floor and into the room below, died after having liver cancer in 2012.
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