Coronation Street - where is Lauren Bolton? All the biggest clues
Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street kicked off a huge new storyline last month as Lauren Bolton's abrupt departure from Weatherfield sparked suspicion.
When Lauren's new love interest Bobby Crawford paid a visit to her flat, he was baffled to discover that she was nowhere to be seen and tried to raise the alarm that something wasn't right.
Don't expect an instant resolution to this mystery, as it's the start of the "blockbuster" new 2024 storyline that was teased by Corrie bosses late last year.
So, where is Lauren and what are the key clues to her fate? Join us as we recap the biggest talking points.
The last sighting
The last scene featuring Lauren took place at her flat, as Roy Cropper paid her a visit.
In Monday, February 19's episode, Roy had made the difficult decision to sack Lauren from the café because she'd been caught stealing £5 from Bethany Platt's bag during a shift.
The next episode on Wednesday, February 21 saw Roy arrive at Lauren's flat to hand over her final wages.
He kindly offered to help Lauren find a new job, but she suggested that it might be time for her to move on from Weatherfield.
She told Roy: "I reckon I've reached the end of the line here. I've let everyone down that's ever been nice to me. I'll move on, I'll find a new place with new faces and everything will be fine.
"I'll make a fresh start somewhere new. It'll do me good to be in a new place where no one knows me and I've not got loads of baggage weighing me down."
Coronation Street bosses have since confirmed that Roy will become the police's prime suspect in the case.
Bobby Crawford is responsible for sparking the initial suspicion, letting DS Swain know that Roy cleaned up the flat after Lauren disappeared. Although this was entirely innocent, Bobby fears that Roy was covering his tracks.
Vicky Myers, who plays Swain, recently told Digital Spy: "Because of [Roy's] honesty and slight vulnerability, [Swain] sees that he's almost too good to be true.
"It's quite cynical, as she's suspicious over Roy's support for Lauren and she wonders: 'Do people really genuinely go and help someone and be generous towards them like this?' It raises suspicion and it goes from there, really.
"There is evidence to support the theory. Once Swain and Tinker go to Lauren's flat, they're made aware that there's potentially some blood on the curtains.
"Scenes of Crime Officers are brought in to investigate and it's confirmed – and there's also human tissue. So it escalates into that, really."
Recent paparazzi photos showed that Roy will face a court appearance later this year, so it seems that there's a long way to go with this storyline.
The creepy scene in Lauren's flat
Although Lauren had shared her plans to move on from Weatherfield, Bobby's subsequent visit to her flat saw him make some unsettling discoveries which hinted at there being more to the story.
First up, Bobby was surprised to find that the door to the flat had been left unlocked. There was no sign of Lauren, but all indications pointed to her leaving in a hurry – or worse, being harmed or taken against her will.
The radio was still on in the flat, while an uneaten bacon sandwich had been left on the side and there was an unwashed pan in the sink.
Bobby later told Max Turner: "It was like she'd been abducted by aliens."
Max dismissed Bobby's theories, not seeing anything to be worried about at this early stage.
Lauren's past with the far-right
Lauren's father Reece Bolton, who appeared on the show in 2022 and 2023, was a member of Griff Reynolds' far-right extremist gang.
In the days before her disappearance, Lauren approached Bethany with the idea of selling her story after she was previously brainwashed by the gang.
Lauren was desperate for cash, but lost interest in the idea of sharing her story when Bethany revealed that her fee would just be £30.
Bethany later told her boyfriend Daniel Osbourne that she'd made some initial enquiries about a possible article and had received threats.
Bethany explained: "I've been getting a few messages from one of Lauren's old far-right friends. I reached out to him yesterday, saying I was writing something, seeing if he wanted to talk.
"He 'very sweetly' told me that I shouldn't be writing anything at all."
When Daniel suggested reporting the threat, Bethany replied: "What would that achieve? He just doesn't want me to write anything. But I'm not going to be scared off."
Could the gang have resurfaced to get Lauren out of the picture before she had a chance to give Bethany any more leads?
Lauren's mystery boyfriend
For months, Corrie has kept fans guessing about the identity of Lauren's mystery boyfriend, who was frequently mentioned but never seen. This led to speculation that the man in question could be a familiar face.
In the early stages of the relationship, Lauren's boyfriend treated her to expensive gifts and she confided in her friends about how things were going well.
By mid-January, Lauren was seen arguing with her boyfriend on the phone, telling him that she didn't need him anymore. She told her friends that she'd ended the relationship.
The man later appeared to be hassling Lauren over the phone and he also paid a visit to her flat, leaving her unsettled.
Bobby also became concerned when he found bruises on Lauren's body, which suggested that someone had attacked her. So, did this sinister figure later take action to make Lauren disappear altogether?
Cait Fitton, who plays Lauren, recently told us: "I think Lauren's very confused. There's this so-called boyfriend that no one knows about, we kind of get the feeling that he's a lot older than Lauren, that he's got more financial stability which is what Lauren needs in her life, but that's all we know.
"I think her head is saying, 'You're in the right place, you're getting given money towards your flat, he obviously cares about you'. But then you've also got Bobby who brings a lot of excitement into Lauren's life. He understands Lauren and he's got that banter with her."
You can check out our separate rundown of suspects for Lauren's boyfriend right here.
Lauren's O-Vidz career
Lauren turned to the adult content platform O-Vidz late last year after discovering that her flatmate Ryan Connor had started using the site to make some fast cash.
Ryan was unsettled when he discovered what Lauren was up to, threatening to report her for making content for the platform while underage.
More recently, Lauren confirmed to her friends that she was back on the site as she was now 18 and free to do as she wished.
Cait recently said: "Lauren has managed to convince herself she just needs the cash but I think at this point she does feel worthless, because she's in a situation she doesn't want to be in.
"She just wants to be loved. She's doing O-Vidz to pay the bills but it's not making her feel any better, but she's got no other choice."
Could one of Lauren's subscribers have become obsessed and put her in danger?
Lauren's connection to Daniel
Lauren chose Daniel as her English tutor last year, initially to pile pressure on Daisy when she was blackmailing her over her affair with Ryan.
Lauren's motives changed as she started genuinely enjoying the one-on-one study sessions with Daniel ahead of her GCSE exam. Daniel also became invested in Lauren, even offering to pay the fee for her to sit the exam.
Although viewers know there was nothing untoward about Daniel's interest in Lauren, one key scene saw Max Turner get suspicious when he spotted Daniel comforting Lauren in the street.
In upcoming scenes, DS Swain interviews Daniel after being tipped off by Max.
Vicky Myers, who plays Swain, told us: "She's quick to investigate Daniel's history with women – especially the connection with Nicky Wheatley and so on. Max comes into the police station and they have a discussion about that.
"There's also the incident with Summer and the fact that he was brought in for questioning about improper conduct. So with that, there's obviously a line of enquiry with him.
"Swain is keen to find out exactly what Daniel's up to – was he tutoring Lauren for sexual favours? As awful as that sounds, perhaps that's exactly what's been going on.
"We're picking apart these people's lives and how accepting the community is. But when you put it down on paper, you ask: 'Is there an ulterior motive with this?' So Swain is very much on that and wants to look into it further."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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