Coronation Street fans seriously distracted by Audrey’s son’s accent as he returns to soap after 15 years

ACTOR Todd Boyce reprised his role as Stephen Reid during Friday's trip to the cobbles.

But Coronation Street fans were distracted from his surprise return by his unexpected accent and took to Twitter.

Stephen Reid was last seen in Weatherfield in 2007, relocating to Italy, and nobody had expected him to come back to the Street.

However, soap bosses like to throw in a few casual surprises and made no exception during Friday's instalment of the long-running drama.

Todd Boyce was thus seen climbing out of a taxi as his Coronation Street alter ego came back to visit his family.

He made his way to the barber shop in the hopes of bumping into a familiar face.

But when he arrived, he only found Elaine Metcalfe (portrayed by Paula Wilcox) banging on the door before he eventually broke his way in.

Stephen was then baffled to find his mother Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) on the edge of consciousness and lying under a heavy motorbike.

Meanwhile, the Platts were discussing how to address the hairdresser's drinking problem with Peter Barlow in Speed Daal.

Stephen was reunited with his family, whom he scolded for not noticing Audrey had been in danger in later scenes before getting into an ambulance with his mother.

But while Stephen was unimpressed by Gail (Helen Worth) and reprimanded his sibling, fans of the Manchester-based drama were equally disappointed by Stephen's accent.

Viewers swarmed over to Twitter, branding Stephen's accent "over the top."

"WTF is that accent", one viewer penned on Twitter.

A second soap fan added: "Stephen thinks he's in an 80s action film."

"Ok his voice is going to irritate the [angry face emoji] out of me, please don't give him many lines", another viewer wrote while a fourth one quipped: "Stephen not wasting any time in showing off his vocal range."

Another added: "Uuum! Stephen's acting is a bit OTT. You're not in Dynasty mate."

But Stephen's accent may be explained by his story.

The son of Audrey Roberts and Geoff Masters, Stephen was put up for adoption shortly after his birth.

He was then adopted by Joyce and Malcolm Reid who later emigrated to Canada - which explains the accent.

But what's next in store for his surprise return?

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV.