CORONATION Street bosses have cast Batman and Hellboy actress Helene Maksoud as the scorned wife of scheming conman Stephen Reid.
The actress, who also appeared in a recurring stint on EastEnders earlier this year, will play the role of Gabrielle Reid who turns up on the street in a bid to track down her estranged husband.
Gabrielle will arrive on the cobbles next week after she discovers that Stephen has moved to Weatherfield.
The businesswoman will demand Stephen (played by Todd Boyce) hand over the €200,000 he stole from her.
Fans have been anticipating the arrival of Gabrielle after Stephen has been seen in recent weeks using his former wife’s credit cards to pay for expensive gifts for his family in Weatherfield.
Helene – who will be joining the soap on a temporary basis – has also appeared in a number of other TV shows and films including Bridgerton, Shetland and Industry.
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This will also be Helene’s second stint on the soap, she appeared in a number of episodes in early 2019.
The actress portrayed the role of May Radfield – the supposed dead wife of conman Duncan Layfield, who had Sally Webster imprisoned after he set her up for his fraudulent scams within the council offices.
Stephen has left fans suspicious ever since he returned to the cobbles earlier this year.
He was confident his mother Audrey Roberts could help him avoid bankruptcy by giving him control of a trust fund.
Believing her family was only out for her money and neglecting her, the hairdresser portrayed by Sue Nicholls denied them her fortune.
In doing so, she’d made the decision of keeping her wealth safe in a trust and vowed that her son Stephen was going to be in charge of it.
However, this has yet to happen and Stephen, whose financial issues are slowly coming to light, is growing increasingly nervous.
Next week, as the Platts gather for Audrey’s Salon opening, the scheming businessman badgers his mother about signing the trust fund, giving him the rights to her fortune.
Believing her family was only out for her money and neglecting her, the hairdresser portrayed by Sue Nicholls denied them her fortune.
In doing so, she’d made the decision of keeping her wealth safe in a trust and vowed that her son Stephen was going to be in charge of it.
However, this has yet to happen and Stephen, whose financial issues are slowly coming to light, is growing increasingly nervous.
Next week, as the Platts gather for Audrey’s Salon opening, the scheming businessman badgers his mother about signing the trust fund, giving him the rights to her fortune.
To make matters worse for Stephen, Audrey announces that she has made an ordinary will, giving each member of her family equal shares.
There’s more bad news for Stephen as he finds out he has been written out of the will due to him insisting he didn’t need Audrey’s money.
In his mother’s eyes, Stephen’s business is thriving and he’s even trying to make it big in the cobbles by getting closer to the Underworld factory.
However, ITV viewers know that he’s only trying to keep up appearances.
Since his return to Weatherfield after more than a decade, it’s become obvious to fans of the Manchester-based soap he’s actually severely struggling with his finances.
He’s first taken an interest in local restaurant owner Yasmeen Nazir but she only has eyes for Stu Carpenter.
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This week, after realising he won’t be getting any of his mother’s cash, Stephen turns his sights to another wealthy victim in the hopes of extorting money from her – Rovers landlady Jenny Connor.
But could he be exposed before it’s too late?
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV.
