Coronation Street’s Lauren Bolton entered her plea ahead of a potential trial for the murder of Joel Deering.

The villain’s body was found in the canal back in October following his mysterious disappearance, with the discovery kicking off a whodunnit storyline.

It was eventually revealed that Lauren was the killer after she bashed his head with a rock in order to save the life of Max Turner, with subsequent scenes seeing Max take the blame for the crime.

Lauren eventually confessed to the crime in a bid to keep her conscience clean, though the matter was confused by the need to bring up her son, Frankie. Facing the prospect of a lengthy sentence, recent weeks have seen Lauren carefully consider her decision.

In Monday’s (December 23) episode, Lauren was seen discussing her options with her lawyer, who shared that a trial would see a robust assault from the prosecution as they would “dig up her past”.

Lauren later confided in Max that she was nervous at the prospect of a trial, admitting that she wouldn’t be viewed as “innocent.” She intimated that she would plead guilty to spare herself the pain, though Max urged her to reconsider for the sake of Frankie and justice.

He theorised that should she plead guilty, Frankie would always see his mother as a murderer after being taken in by Joel’s family, continuing on by saying that the court “won’t” find her guilty due to Joel’s previous assault of her.

Max later remarked to Dee-Dee that Lauren had pleaded not guilty, though she urged him to consider “all possible verdicts” as she noted that the prosecuting lawyer was particularly aggressive during trials.

Lauren later thanked Max for giving her the courage to enter her plea, though he appeared nervous as his conversation with Dee-Dee played on his mind as Lauren prepared for her day in court…