Coronation Street fans ‘work out’ identity of villain Nathan’s secret attacker

In episode of Coronation Street that aired on Wednesday 15 May, Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) interrogated Craig Tinker (Colson Smith) about Nathan Curtis' (Christopher Harper) alibi. Craig let slip that Nathan was with his girlfriend who works at a nail salon, but Bethany quickly pointed out that he was running a tanning bar when he groomed her.

Bethany has become obsessed with pinning Lauren Bolton's (Cait Fitton) murder on Nathan, much to the concern of Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien). During the episode, Bethany had a run-in with Nathan in town, who was furious at her for harassing his girlfriend.

Later, Sarah and Gary Windass (Mikey North) agreed that they needed to intervene before Nathan wreaked havoc on Bethany's life again.

Towards the end of the episode, a hooded figure approached Nathan at the building site and knocked him unconscious. And later, Bethany seemed cautious around Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard), telling him she needed some space.

When he asked if she thought he was responsible for attacking Nathan, she left without giving him an answer. This sparked speculation among viewers on X, formerly known as Twitter, about who the attacker could be. Some noted how ‘small’ the attacker appeared next to Nathan, with one fan penning: "Someone small unless Nathan is a giant."

Another fan suggested: "David was a little person!" Meanwhile, a third theorised: "Gary Windass - he's got a violent side to him." One avid viewer took to social media, saying: "Gary~ I can spot them skinny legs anywhere." Adding more mystery, another fan offered a completely different theory, stating: "Gotta be Bethany.."

So, was it Bethany who orchestrated the attack or are fans on the right track suspecting Gary?

Chris recently revealed how thrilled he was to return as he said: “I was emotional when I was told about Nathan's potential return. During the 18 months he was in it before, hundreds of people shared with me how the storyline reflected something they, or someone they loved, had lived through. It remains important to keep them in mind as we continue Bethany's story.

“I do love playing Nathan though. He is funny, deceitful, slippery, manipulative and ruthless. Now he is also under a lot of pressure too. This new storyline is absolutely full of twists.

“It really is good to be back on the hallowed cobbles. So much has happened since we saw Nathan sent to prison, but Coronation Street is a constant. I feel like the cast, crew and the whole team are old friends.”