Coronation Street fans feel betrayed over the murder of Joel Deering and are demanding justice

CORONATION Street fans have been left fuming at soap scenes this week as they admit they feel “cheated” by the death of Joel Deering because he did not get his “just due”.

Joel’s (Callum Lill) reign of terror has finally come to an end, but viewers aren’t happy with the way it all turned out.

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Corrie viewers have seen Joel commit horrific acts of violence against young women, including Lauren Bolton (Caitlin Fitton).

This heartbreaking storyline has been going on for over twelve months, but when police finally closed in on the perpetrator, he died in a shocking turn of events.

However, soap fans feel robbed that the long storyline ends this way, as they would have liked to see Joel’s victims get proper justice.

One viewer took to Reddit to voice their complaints, criticizing the ITV soap for making a huge mistake.

“Joel being killed was a big miss from Corrie imo as has been noted, it has become a crutch for the writing team to kill off the big bad,” they fumed.

While another agreed: ‘It’s infuriating that the worst characters get off so easily and don’t get their comeuppance.

“I would have been absolutely fine if they somehow died in prison after – for example: other inmates ate Joel for breakfast. A lawyer and a pedophile?! It would have been HM Christmas-Came-Early,” they added.

A third viewer noted that killing off villains happens all too often on the soap.

“Between Joel, Phelan, Geoff and Stephen, I’m mostly expecting abuse storylines to end in death now… it tells me they’re too lazy to write a decent ending or it’s all judgment stunts,” raged the viewer.

While a fourth viewer admitted: “I wanted to torture him for hours.”

Theorizing why Corrie bosses chose to go this route with Joel’s storyline, a fifth viewer said: “It probably comes down to being too lazy to do a long, drawn-out murder case.”

They also suggested that because evil cult leader Rowan Cunliffe (Emryhs Cooper) will soon stand trial for his crimes, it might be too much for the soap to handle two trials at once.

“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised by the way they’ve taken Joel’s storyline, and despite Swain not being allowed to take the case, I’m sure she’ll be happy with it again somehow. I’m sure she saw Joel get killed,” the viewer added.

Joel’s body was found earlier this week and a post-mortem quickly revealed it was two blows to the head that killed him, meaning it has become a murder investigation.

Darkest soap storylines

Over the years the likes of EastEnders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street have all tried to outdo each other with their bizarre plots in a bid to keep us informed every week. But here are some of the darkest that left fans in shock…

EastEnders: Tony cares for Whitney (2008-2009) – Tony King first appeared on Albert Square in 2008 as Bianca’s boyfriend, played by Patsy Palmer. But it was soon revealed that he was a pedophile who had groomed the vulnerable Whitney, Bianca’s adopted stepdaughter from a previous relationship, since she was twelve. The shocking storyline attracted more than 200 complaints within a week of its inception. Whitney waited until her 16th birthday to reveal the truth to a shocked Bianca, who called the police.

Emmerdale: Holly’s drug addiction and shock death (2010-2016) – In 2010, Holly Barton (played by Sophie Powles) became Emmerdale’s first teenage drug addict. The shocking storyline saw her take cocaine on a night out before developing a fatal heroin addiction. Parents John and Moira tried desperately to help their daughter get clean, but when Holly returned in 2016 after a four-year absence, she quickly relapsed. Fans were left stunned and heartbroken when distraught Moira found Holly dead in her bed from a heroin overdose.

Hollyoaks: Luke’s Rape (2000) – Actor Gary Lucy was just 17 when he took on this groundbreaking storyline, which saw his character Luke Morgan become the soap’s first male rape victim. Luke had endured a prolonged campaign of bullying from football rival Mark Gibbs, who raped him after Luke stood up to him. Luke became suicidal after the brutal attack, before opening up to his brother Adam. Gibbs was sentenced to eight years in prison. Gary won Best Actor at the British Soap Awards in 2000 for his performance.

Coronation Street: Evil Richard Hillman (2001–2003) – Just the mention of ‘Richard Hillman’ is enough to send a shiver down the spine of soap fans. He’s often ranked as one of the most evil soap villains and it’s not hard to see why. The smooth financial advisor hit his ex-wife Patricia on the head with a shovel. In an attempt to keep his mother-in-law Audrey quiet, he set her house on fire. And when Maxine caught him trying to kill Emily Bishop, he smashed a crowbar into her head. He left the cobbles in 2003 when he drove Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth, and her family into the canal. They survived, but he did not.

As the storyline spiraled into a major whodunit, Corrie fans believe Ellie, one of Joel’s victims who convinced Lauren to come forward, is behind it.

Even though Joel is dead, viewers can still expect to see the aftermath of his brutal abuse and manipulation as his victims struggle to move forward.

Additionally, there will be an ongoing investigation and it may take some time before the identity of Joel’s killer is revealed.

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