ITV Coronation Street's Calum Lill speaks out as Joel Deering's killer finally revealed

very own Calum Lill, who portrayed the solicitor Joel Deering, has opened up about his exit from the show and his feelings about discovering his character's killer.

Rising to stardom in 2023 with his debut on the soap, Lill initially appeared to be the quintessential good guy and even sparked a romance with Dee-Dee Bailey, played by Channique Sterling-Brown. But it didn't take long for Joel's dark past to unravel, shedding light on his history of grooming and abuse towards young girls, particularly Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton), whom he once tried to murder, leading her to flee.

The sordid reality of Joel's sins came out, culminating in September with the grim discovery of his body in a river. Although initially thought to be a drowning, post-mortem analysis hinted at foul play, setting off a thrilling "whodunnit" mystery.

Several Weatherfield regulars found themselves embroiled as suspects in the weeks succeeding his death, causing much suspicion amongst them, including Dee-Dee and Carla Connor (Alison King). The anticipation reached its peak during the Friday episode (November 15) when the show finally exposed Joel's perpetrator.

In a striking flashback sequence, viewers watched as Lauren delivered the fatal blow to Joel before dumping his body in the river, only to be later uncovered by police.

With the murder revelation being the talk of the Cobbles, Calum Lill has since spoken exclusively to Reach and other media outlets, candidly expressing his thoughts on his dramatic departure and the narrative twist that brought an end to Joel.

When quizzed about his prior knowledge of the character's fate, Calum revealed: "At first, we were all really confused and trying to work out what was going on because we were getting snippets of this and snippets of that."

"And I eventually found out maybe a couple of months before shooting it that it was going to Lauren. But also that it was going to be so many twists and turns along the way."

Discussing his reaction to the revelation that Lauren was the killer, Calum wittily remarked that it is "what he [Joel] deserves."

He elaborated: "When I found out it was Lauren I thought soap justice is definitely a thing, and I think that's the best justice he could have got."

"He attacked her viscously and nearly killed her, so for it to be able to come full circle, and for him to get his comeuppance from the person he attacked when she was vulnerable and defenceless I think, is what he deserves."

Coronation Street is on ITV at 8pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday and available to stream from 7am on ITVX