Coronation Street’s hateful loan shark Rick Neelan is alive and set to return to Weatherfield, according to fans.
The villain will make a shocking comeback to the cobbles, predict some viewers, to exact revenge on the man who tried to murder him.
Read more: Former Corrie star Christopher Quinten says filming ‘is more intense’ these days
If true, the scenes could be some of the most explosive in soap history.
Viewers saw Rick terrorising the residents of Coronation Street with violence and threats – and Gary Windass was one such victim.
Rick made Gary’s life a misery on the Street, and their fraught relationship ended with a brutal showdown in the woods.
Read more: Jack P. Shepherd shares funny Jackass impression video with Brooke Vincent
We were then led to believe that Gary had KILLED Rick and buried him in the woods, although we never saw Rick’s body.
At the time, some viewers questioned Gary’s ability to have murdered heavyweight Rick, and now fan theories suggest the thug isn’t dead after all.
Writing on Digital Spy Forums, one wrote: “Is Rick really dead? We haven’t seen the body, so I do wonder if Rick might still be alive and laying low.”
She added: “Soap rules say if you don’t see the person’s death they could be alive. I just can’t see Corrie making Gary a murderer. Rana’s death was an accident as he never set out to kill anyone and the factory was empty.”
Another added: “Unless Gary thought he had killed him, but Rick survived? Emmerdale did that with Cain and Joe.”
A third agreed, saying: “I am not surprised they didn’t show the scene. It really is very hard to imagine Gary turning the tables on Rick.
“Virtually everyone in Weatherfield has bashed him up, which makes the current transformation very hard to believe.”
If Rick is still alive i'm not watching anymore, that would just be ridiculous! #Corrie
— ⚡️ｃｒａｉｇ⚡️ (@cb_038) June 24, 2019
Over on Twitter, one wrote: “I bet Rick turns up alive, well and mightily [bleeped] off a few months down the line as he’s only stunned #corrie.”
However, one fan truly believes Rick has gone, replying: “Considering Gary’s graphic detail of how he killed him, it’s not surprising they never showed the body, and if they did would it be recognisable.”
Earlier this week, Gary told his assistant Sharon how he had a choice to run away from Rick but instead decided to stay and kill him.
He described the incident in graphic detail, before offering her £15,000 to keep quiet about it.
He said: “I think about Sarah and the kids and it’s like a hit of adrenaline and I get it, I slam the rock down and he drops the shovel, he’s stunned.
“That’s my chance to run but I don’t, I smash that rock down again and again and again and again. Until suddenly there’s nothing, he’s just slumped on me as a dead weight.
“I had to stop him Sharon, I had to know he couldn’t come after us again. I had no choice, I had to think of my family.”
Will Rick ‘return from the dead’? Well if Pat Phelan can do it…
Do you believe Gary Windass is a cold-hearted killer? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!