Coronation Street’s Maria Connor will be jailed for a year.
The hairdresser – who is played by Samia Longchambon – is currently on remand in prison after evil Caz Hammond (Rhea Bailey) faked her own death to make it look like the Weatherfield resident had killed her, but it is her sham marriage to Pablo Duarte (Shai Matheson) which will put her behind bars.
A source said: "Maria will be handed a 12-month stretch but she’ll be back on the cobbles in the new year because of good behaviour.
"The scene is set to shock fans as they know she didn’t murder Caz but won’t see the sham marriage sentence coming."
The storyline is expected to draw comparisons to Deirdre Barlow’s infamous wrongful conviction for fraud in 1998 which prompted a nationwide ‘Free the Weatherfield One’ campaign and was even debated in Parliament with then-Prime Minster Tony Blair promising to intervene.
The source added to The Sun newspaper: "It will be one of the most shocking court storylines in the soap’s history and likened to Deirdre Barlow’s wrongful conviction.
"Usually these plots are arranged to give actors a break but Samia will be seen from time to time in jail and will do some filming."
Caz recently framed Maria by entering her flat and leaving blood everywhere, and she also planted a pair of the hairdresser’s scissors soaked in claret.
Maria married Argentine Pablo, who she met in Cyprus, to help him get a visa and recently had to head to London to spend time with him to make it look as though they were a couple.
But their secret was recently exposed following all the police attention surrounding Maria.
Coronation Street’s Maria to be jailed
