The villain has a frightening new plan.

Coronation Street spoilers follow.

Coronation Street has aired a huge setback in the effort to bring down Joel Deering.

Friday’s (August 30) episode saw Joel turn the tables on Lauren Bolton after she’d recently reported him to the police.

DS Lisa Swain was working hard to build a criminal case against Joel but was discouraged as her superior, DI Costello, ruled there wasn’t enough solid evidence to charge him.

Lisa reluctantly informed Joel that he was being released without any charge. Viewers would later see Daniel Osbourne telling Lisa about the concerning rumours that Joel drugged Lauren with dodgy labour-inducing pills.

After learning the case against Joel had been dropped, Lauren was horrified to come face-to-face with him while visiting Frankie in the hospital.

Dee-Dee received an alert from the tracker she’d placed on Joel’s phone, telling her that Joel was at the hospital at that very moment.

As Dee-Dee and Lisa raced to the hospital, Joel warned Lauren that he was going to destroy her life just as she’d tried to do to him. He even threatened to fight for custody of their son.

“Don’t try to understand what goes on in the lives of civilised people,” he warned. “You know nothing. You’re a child. A chavvy little child.”

Joel once again showed his cruelty by saying their son would be better off if Lauren was dead, rather than have a mother like her.

Lauren couldn’t take any more of Joel’s harassment so she flew at him, bloodying his lip. As a nurse dragged Lauren away, Joel smiled gleefully that his plan to provoke her had worked.

Lisa was alarmed to receive a call from the precinct telling her about Lauren’s attack on Joel. Meanwhile, Joel took a selfie of his cut lip, before calling a family law attorney to say he had a case for them.

“This is one I intend to win,” he vowed.