Corrie fans have been left speculating that the legendary Ken Barlow may have been “replaced”. William

Roache has seen his character Ken embroiled in a gripping storyline recently involving his

granddaughter.

Amy Barlow, portrayed by Elle Mulvaney, found herself in the throes of a shady cult called The Institute

after Leanne Battersby, played by Jane Danson, inadvertently got her involved.

In an episode fraught with tension on Wednesday (August 28), viewers watched as Amy decided to invest her inheritance from gran Deirdre into the cult’s funds only to regret it swiftly following a harrowing experience during one of the cult’s rituals. This led her to urgently demand the return of her £40k.

Despite reassurances from Leanne that everything was legitimate, she later revealed the money had gone to a “parent company”, causing complications in getting it back. Meanwhile, Amy’s father Steve McDonald, acted by Simon Gregson, unaware of the financial switch, is prepared to bring in the police to recover what was lost, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.

After the latest bombshell episode of Coronation Street aired on ITV, show bosses took to the official Instagram account to post a teaser clip. The caption read simply: “Poor Amy. What has she done? “, sparking a flurry of comments from viewers, reports the Daily Star.

Many fans were quick to point the finger at Leanne, others expressed their sympathy for Amy, and some questioned why Ken would so readily part with Amy’s inheritance.

One viewer remarked: “Ken would not have been duped like that”, while a second added: “Ken should have at least advised her to not invest her entire £40K. Even if it was a legit business, risking her entire savings was a bad move.”

Another fan of the show couldn’t hide their dismay, commenting: “Why have they replaced Ken with an unintelligent fool”, and another voiced their disbelief: “I can’t believe Ken fell for that rubbish”.