Coronation Street’s Roy Cropper is in for a shock when his foster son Wayne Hayes turns up on the cobbles – more than 17 years since his last visit.
The Roy’s Rolls owner – played by David Neilson – is to be visited by a health-and-safety inspector in the coming weeks, and he turns out to be Wayne – now played by Adam Barlow, the namesake of ‘Corrie’ star Sam Robertson’s character – who Roy hasn’t seen since Christmas Eve 2001.
A show insider told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Little Wayne had a really tough time before, but now he’s all grown up and has a decent job.
"It’ll be interesting to see how he and Roy get along…"
Wayne will turn up in Weatherfield in March, and he will be involved in the Underworld factory collapse storyline, which will see him try to put pressure on Roy’s pal Carla Connor (Alison King) after the tragedy leaves one resident dead.
The youngster’s last appearance on the cobbles came on Christmas Eve in December 2001 when he and his mum Sheila Hayes (Jeni Williams) visited Roy and wife Hayley Cropper (Julie Hesmondhalgh).
Roy and Hayley had previously taken Wayne in after the youngster stole food from his cafe, but they took pity on him upon discovering his stepfather Alex Swinton (Joe Simpson) had been hitting him.
The couple later kidnapped Wayne to protect him from Alex following a camping trip in Derbyshire, but turned themselves into police which later saw Hayley kept in custody after she refused not to have any contact with the lad.
But nearly a year after meeting Wayne, Roy managed to persuade Sheila to go to the police about Alex, and he was later arrested.
Wayne, who was 10 at the time, and Sheila turned up to see Roy and Hayley for a final time on Christmas Eve 2001 before departing the cobbles.
Roy’s blast from the past comes after his mother, Sylvia Goodwin – who was played by Stephanie Cole – passed away off-screen last week.
The 77-year-old actress previously played the outspoken battleaxe from 2011 to 2013, after the character departed Weatherfield to live with her sister Jean in Hastings when she was left devastated by Hayley’s cancer diagnosis. Hayley went on to take her own life in January 2014.
Roy Cropper’s foster son returning to Coronation Street
