Coronation Street has confirmed Julie Carp’s devastating secret following her return to Weatherfield. Actress Katy Cavanagh has reprised her much-loved role and made her first appearance back in the ITV soap last week.

Fans will recall that Julie first arrived on the cobbles in 2008 after a holiday romance with Kirk Sutherland. The relationship didn’t work out and when Julie set her sights on Jason Grimshaw her mum was forced to tell her that she was in fact Eileen’s half sister and Jason’s aunt.

After a brief fling with Eileen’s then boyfriend Jessie Chadwick, Julie found love with Newsagent Brian Packham and they left the street together in 2015. But they split and Brian eventually returned without her.

Now, Corrie fans have witnessed Julie’s comeback. In the scenes, Todd Grimshaw was the first to be reunited with Julie. After Debbie Webster handed out flyers to Todd and Billy Mayhew for a tea dance for singles at the hotel.

After some convincing to get Billy to go, he and Todd attend. However, when a couple of men offered to buy them drinks, Billy hurried out. As George Shuttleworth berated Todd for dragging Billy along, Todd was distracted after he caught sight of someone – with that someone being Julie.

It was revealed that Julie would be hiding a secret and spoilers for next week’s Corrie has seemingly confirmed that she’s keeping a devastating health diagnosis from her loved ones.

Julie was first seen reuniting with Todd© ITV

Spoilers for next week have revealed that Brian Packham is delighted when Julie reveals that she’ll be sticking around as Eileen Grimshaw invited her to stay.

But later, when Eileen suggests they spend the day together, Julie makes excuses leaving Eileen put out, not knowing she’s got an appointment with her palliative care nurse.

It comes as Julie’s return is set to be part of Sue Cleaver’s exit storyline in late spring. The soap legend recently revealed she has decided to bid farewell to the cobbles after 25 years playing Eileen.

Katy previously said in a statement about her return as Julie: “It is exciting to dust off Julie’s quirky wardrobe again and an absolute joy to step back onto the cobbles. Julie is so much fun, I’ve missed her.”