Coronation Street could finally turn the tables on Theo Silverton this spring – with a recent episode warning that he may end up in a body bag. A shocking incident unfolds on the cobbles on 23 April – the day of Carla Connor and Lisa Swain’s wedding – and fans currently suspect that Theo will be at the centre of it all.

Earlier this week, special flashforward scenes showed Betsy Swain being interviewed by police after finding a body on her mum’s big day. Theo was then revealed as one of the five possible victims alongside Carl Webster, Jodie Ramsey, Maggie Driscoll and Megan Walsh.

So, is Theo going to meet his maker? We examine the evidence for and against…

1. FOR: The timing

Theo made his first appearance on Coronation Street on 23 March last year, when the scaffolder got on the wrong side of Julie Carp and George Shuttleworth in his debut episode.

While we don’t know any cast contract details (we’ll let the stars’ agents worry about that), could the neat timing indicate a year-long deal coming to an end?

Producers surely knew the roadmap for Theo’s dark storyline with Todd from the start, so perhaps they always planned to keep him around for a 13-month stint before waving goodbye.

2. FOR: He’s the longest-running villain on the list

All five possible victims have been up to no good, but Theo is the one who’s been causing trouble for the longest period – and arguably the person who fans most want to see the back of. (No offence to actor James Cartwright, who’s doing a brilliant job portraying such a horrible character.)

With constant fan calls for Theo to get his comeuppance, the writers probably need to wrap things up sooner rather than later, regardless of who the corpse is. So, does this sense of urgency add to our evidence that he’s the mystery body?

3. FOR: There’s no shortage of suspects

If Corrie plans a whodunit storyline once we know who the victim is, the death of Theo would give them plenty of possibilities to explore.

Todd was seen ominously holding a knife this week, leaving fans to wonder whether he could lash out at his abusive fiancé in two months’ time.

Theo has other enemies, too – he’s had a rocky time with his estranged wife Danielle and he’s currently on the wrong side of Carl Webster.

Plus, Todd’s loved ones will surely be tempted to act when they find out how Theo has been behaving behind closed doors.

4. FOR: He doesn’t have many Weatherfield links

Many of the other potential victims have links to established Corrie families. Carl is deeply embedded in huge ongoing stories for the Websters, Maggie is the Driscoll family’s acid-tongued matriarch, while Jodie is only really getting started with the Platts.

In Theo’s case, his family has only appeared briefly to serve the wider storyline and his relationship with Todd is his only real purpose in the show. With that connection set to be severed either way, Theo is arguably an easy character to close the door on for good.

5. FOR: An eye for an eye

Theo cruelly left Billy to die in the Corriedale crash last month, realising that he needed to keep his sinister secrets safe by silencing the vicar forever.

The soap gods always have the final say, though – so could Theo soon lose his own life as karma strikes following the tragic loss of Billy? It’d certainly be a fitting punishment.

But on the other hand…

6. AGAINST: We’ve seen this before

Corrie‘s last headline-grabbing domestic abuse story was the Geoff and Yasmeen plot, which played out in 2019 and 2020.

That storyline ended with the death of villainous Geoff, who faced a more sensationalised form of soap justice (falling off a roof) rather than a legal punishment.

Weatherfield bosses have previously acknowledged the pressure to make Todd and Theo’s storyline different from similar plots which have aired in the past. For that reason, we can’t help wondering whether the writers will opt for a more traditional and legal-focused ending by sending Theo to jail, rather than writing him out in a big murder or stunt sequence.

A twist where Todd kills Theo in self-defence would also perhaps be too similar to the memorable 2020 scene where tormented Yasmeen stabbed Geoff in the neck with a broken wine bottle.

7. AGAINST: Corrie’s teasers on the story ending

Corrie‘s producer Kate Brooks has previously dropped strong hints that Theo and Todd’s story will end with Todd finding the strength to walk away from Theo.

“We continue to tell the story truthfully and realistically,” Brooks said in January. “But obviously, we can’t sustain this forever. Certainly Todd will start to realise that maybe all is not what it seems, as will other people around Todd.”

Brooks has also indicated that the concerns of Todd’s friends like George, Christina and Sarah will prove crucial to the story’s outcome.

In her most recent interview last month, Brooks focused heavily on these issue-based elements of the story and made no mention of a more sensationalised ending involving a death.

Was this another clue that Theo is heading to prison in the long-run? Or was Corrie‘s boss merely holding back to preserve upcoming story twists?

8. AGAINST: Too obvious?

Soap bosses rarely like to opt for the most obvious outcome to a big mystery plot, as the complaints of being “too predictable” will pour in.

A recent ITV poll on This Morning found that viewers strongly expect Theo to be the 23 April victim, with a whopping 44% of the votes. But would Corrie really want to go for the option that everyone has clocked two months early?

Let’s revisit a previous quote from Kate Brooks on the mystery corpse story: “There are so many twists and so many turns and it’s been a real challenge in some ways, because it is so complex and intricate, but it’s so exciting. Just when we think that the story is going in one direction, we absolutely do a U-turn and go into a completely different direction…”