Coronation Street aired an update on absent character Simon Barlow in tonight’s episode.

Simon (Alex Bain), the son of Leanne Battersby and Peter Barlow, left the cobbles in early June last year to join his dad in the yacht business.

Tonight, Bobby Crawford shared an update on his long-term friend, detailing his whereabouts and his hopes to join him for a holiday.

“Simon is in Mallorca this week and I want to see him,” Bobby told Carla Connor at the flat, explaining why he was seeking an advance on his wages.

Carla reluctantly agreed to pay him upfront after Bobby jokily shamed her for forgetting his birthday that weekend – with the reunion trip set to be a double celebration.

Bobby thanked Carla for the advance by taking her for a drink at the Rovers Return, where they were later joined by Ryan Connor and Betsy Swain.

“Me and Simon are going to live it up – always fancied a foam party,” he said of the upcoming trip to Mallorca.

Teasing, Ryan asked why he hadn’t been invited on the “lads’ holiday”, to which Bobby hilariously replied that he and Simon needed a “fair chance at pulling” and didn’t need a topless Ryan there to mess it up for them.

Bobby’s trip seemed to be a spontaneous, last-minute decision after falling out with Lauren Bolton earlier in the day.

In Roy’s cafe, Lauren confessed to Bobby that at one point she thought he could be her mystery blackmailer, with Bobby scheming to spend more time with her.

Bobby was shocked and hurt by the revelation and told Lauren she needed to work on her friendships, before leaving abruptly: “I’m out”.

Later in the Rovers, as Bobby went to leave with Carla, Ryan and Betsy, Lauren sought him out and wanted to make amends, but Bobby had a cold response for her: “I’m going to see Simon and when I get back, we’re just strangers, nothing more.”