Coronation Street fans have been left gobsmacked after spotting a crucial link between Laura Neelan and Steve McDonald.
Fans of the ITV soap will be aware that Laura is determined to get in touch with her ex Rick before she dies of terminal cancer, so that she can pass his money on to her daughter Kelly.
So determined, in fact, that she has hired a private investigator to chase him – not knowing that Rick was actually murdered by Gary Windass’ hand.
But now viewers have noticed a connection between Laura’s PI and cobbles regular Steve McDonald.
Laura’s PI Ron Fordham has appeared in the soap several times before as a Detective Sergeant in the police, played by Steven Hillman.
But that isn’t the first role Steven has played on the ITV street, as he first appeared as a jury foreman, a repossession man and, more recently, as Rich Raven.
Rich was a taxi driver hired by Street Cars – the company owned by Steve McDonald.
One stunned fan posted a snap of the actor on Facebook: “This is Steve Hillman, the actor who played Rich Raven in 2000 in Corrie.
(Image: ITV)
“Jez Quigley installed him temporarily in Steve McDonald’s new business venture, Street Cars.
“Question is, isn’t this the same actor who is now playing the private investigator Laura is using to track down Rick Neelan’s fortune?”
And the eagle-eyed fan was correct, as Hillman had appeared as Rich Raven for three episodes.
Jez Quigley was a drug dealer and gangster who Steve turned to for a job back in the late 90s, and was eventually sent to prison after murdering Tony Horrocks, whose body wasn’t discovered for a year.
(Image: ITV)
Someone else quickly replied: “They have used this actor in quite a few different roles in the past. We’re not supposed to remember LOL!”
“I spotted that!” another fan responded.
Along with starring in Coronation Street, Hillman has also appeared in everything from Emmerdale to The League of Gentleman.
While he is used to playing a range of characters in Corrie, he also played three separate characters in Emmerdale – appearing as Sergeant Andrew Drake in 2008 and 2009, as Grant Manny in 2001 and Paul Hargreaves in 2012.
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8pm on ITV.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
