Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street has confirmed that drug dealer Dean Turnball will return to screens as part of Abi Webster’s devastating new storyline.
It was recently announced that a new issued-based story for the ITV soap will see Abi become the victim of deepfake porn, which is when AI technology is used to alter the faces of actors in already-existing pornographic material to make them look like other people.
The storyline is set to kick off in scenes airing next week, when Dean (who has appeared on and off the cobbles since 2022) calls in at the garage to ask Abi for help because he’s hit a rough patch.
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However, Abi abruptly sends him away while Cassie watches their interaction unfold.
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Shortly after, Tyrone is horrified when he is sent a sex tape of Abi that has also been posted online.
He’s forced to break the shocking news to Abi, whose situation goes from bad to worse later in the week when she learns that the video has been uploaded to other websites.
Later on, Cassie informs Kevin that she saw Abi arguing with Dean shortly before the video was released and overheard her arranging to meet him to hand over some cash.
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When Abi does meet Dean, she arrives brandishing a wrench and accuses him of making the sex tape. Although Dean insists that he has no idea what she's talking about, Abi doesn't believe him.
After Kevin shows up and orders Abi to drop the wrench, Dean is taken into custody for questioning.
However, Abi soon discovers that four more videos of her have been posted online and, upon studying them, realises that they're actually all deep fakes.
Is Dean really responsible for the videos, or is there someone else trying to ruin Abi's life?
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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