Coronation Street star Brian Capron reveals how and why Richard Hillman is back after two decades

Two decades on since his reign of terror captivated the nation, Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) has returned to Coronation Street to terrorise Gail Platt (Helen Worth) one final time.

Gail, as viewers know, is set to leave the cobbles after 50 years, with the prospect of a happy ending on the cards in the south of France with fiancé Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson).

But Christmas Eve saw things take quite a turn for the matriarch, who learned that Jesse had been getting up to no good with David (Jack P Shepherd).

Feeling betrayed, Gail left her own farewell party and asked them both – plus mum Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls), who informed her of Jesse’s bad behaviour – to leave her alone with her thoughts.

But as Gail woke from her slumber, she was left frightened to see her deceased husband Richard Hillman, the street’s most infamous ever villain, standing before her.

Guess you should have stayed at the party Gail!

Richard glared at his wife with that sinister expression of his, almost as though he was ready to commit murder once more.

But has he returned from the dead to complete his final mission and claim the life of Gail, who famously survived his attempt on her life when he drove her into the canal?

That would be a no. Richard is still dead, which means that he’s simply a ghost – or a figment of Gail’s imagination.

The murderous villain was soaking wet, with pieces of seaweed hanging from his head and over his shoulders – a callback to his watery demise.

Discussing the scenes in question, actor Brian Capron said: ‘It was a lovely experience, they’ve written a very clever scene.

‘It’s a very tricky thing to bring a character back from the dead but I think the writers thought very carefully about how to do it and they’ve come up trumps.

‘For me it’s got the right kind of dark humour which there always was with Richard Hillman which I love but also a slight hint of menace. I thought they balanced it perfectly.’

Brian was also quick to heap praise on co-star Helen Worth, saying that he and her have a ‘very special’ relationship.

‘I think that’s why the Hillman storyline worked out so beautifully,’ he continued. ‘I never wanted it to look like he was a really bad, horrible person so we worked very hard on making it a very loving relationship.

It gave a lot of dimension to the character, thanks to Helen, so it was great to be back with her for the day.’