Coronation Street spoilers: Police hunt for Tracy Barlow as she disappears with daughter Amy and prison escapee Rob Donovan
Tracy whisks Amy off the the Peak District to try and keep Rob away from the police - but the Barlows back in Weatherfield are worried
POLICE search for Tracy Barlow after she takes daughter Amy to the Peak District to avoid suspicion in the attack on Ken Barlow - and to keep lover Rob Donovan away from the police.
Fans were shocked when Corrie producers put Amy in the picture as a possible suspect for the attack, and even more astonished when jailbird Rob turned up on the cobbles, putting him in the frame as well.
Amy is unimpressed to find she's stuck in a cottage in a remote area - but fortunately she's still allowed outside to get some air.
Then Rob appears - and Amy doesn't know about him yet! Tracy promises she'll explain everything, and reassures him that she loves him and she won't let him down. But a neighbour has already seen Rob at the cottage and he knows they need to be careful.
Meanwhile Steve and Ken worry Tracy may have done a runner with Amy to avoid the police, after Ken and Adam have a heart-to-heart and Ken is convinced his grandson wasn't behind the attack.
Steve and Ken then worry when they realise Amy isn't at school, and that her passport is missing. Steve finds both of their phones in the house, and their disappearance is reported to the police.
Prison escapee Rob, who got out of jail after seizing an opportunity when a prison van crashed, spots a missing persons' appeal for Tracy and Amy on the TV and wonders whether he should leave the country without them.
He tells Tracy she should take Amy home and leave him to carry on by himself - but she's not convinced.
But it's really the final straw when Amy phones Steve from a local phonebox and tells him where they are - and the three have to escape before the police arrive.
Will they manage to get away in time - or is bad boy Rob's return to Corrie set to be all too brief?
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Fans initially thought Tracy and Amy were quitting the cobbles before they were blamed for the attack - with Tracy suspecting her daughter could be involved.
Amy aroused Tracy’s suspicions when she confessed she hates Ken because he refused to lend her the money to buy the florists.
Amy had also denied all knowledge of Adam visiting 1 Coronation Street to pick up some money on the night of the attack - which worried Tracy further when she realised Amy had lied to police.
And Adam pointed the finger of blame at her too when he realised Amy has denied his true account about picking up the money.
Tracy organised passports and said she'd whisk Amy away on a "surprise holiday", but then fans found out the real reason for their trip to the countryside - Rob's need to be away from prying eyes.
Actor Marc Baylis, who plays Rob, spoke to The Sun Online about his return.
He said: "Rob is a very different person to the last time that we saw him.
"A lot has occurred over the past 18 months. He was very angry, he was very bitter about the fact that the two women in his life (Carla and Tracy) together were responsible for him being sentenced to prison."
He also revealed his romance with Tracy would be a huge focus, saying: "We're trying to tell the love story. It is doomed, it's a horrible scenario that if you are in love as passionately what they are with each other, and it is genuine, the fact you know it can't go anywhere, it's kind of redundant in a way.
"The feelings don't stop because it's redundant."
While cobbles sources are staying tight-lipped on the potential for a long-term return for a rehabilitated Rob, he said he would be come back but wouldn't even tease how his current storyline ends.
"I love playing the character and I love the show," he said.
- Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights on ITV
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