Yesterday’s episode of Coronation Street was a big one for the Platt family, with the birth of baby Harper and Jodie’s (Olivia Frances-Brown) private revelation that she is Shona Platt’s (Julia Goulding) sister – but it was a different character entirely that got fans talking.
Viewers will know that Shona needed to undergo a special surgery while giving birth to her daughter.
Early on in their pregnancy, Shona and David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) learnt that the baby had a mass growing on her neck. The consultant explained that the surgery to remove it would be risky for both Shona and the baby, as they would have to operate while the umbilical cord was still attached.
While David was terrified by the possibility of losing Shona, she was determined to have the surgery.
The surgery was planned down to the last detail, but in true soap fashion, those tightly laid plans were thrown into disarray when the couple were caught up in Corriedale’s multi-vehicle pile-up and Shona went into labour early.
After finally being transferred to Weatherfield General, where her surgery was going to take place, Shona was hit with further stress when she learnt that her surgeon was stranded abroad after a cancelled flight.
However, the hospital staff assured her that his replacement was a top surgeon in his field.
Enter: Mr Vincent Harper.
It was this mysterious surgeon, played by actor John Hollingworth, who stirred mumblings among fans, who had plenty of questions.
Who was this mysterious man? What was he doing in Roy’s Rolls? How did he seem to know so much about Billy Mayhew? And are we set to see more of him?
Another regular character?
The episode opened on a mystery man in bed receiving a call from an unknown number, which, honestly, just screamed: ‘Hi! I’m a new character with a murky past that we will uncover over the course of a months-long storyline.’
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Thankfully, that soon proved not to be the case as the questions of who he was, who was calling and who he was in bed with were answered within the 30-minute instalment.
However, fans still think there’s more to uncover from this intriguing surgeon.
‘Why did they make a big thing about the doctor coming into it, the way it started as if he was going to be a baddy? They could have just said this is the doctor, not have mystery phone calls and going into the caff and bumping into David. I found it odd,’ Metro reader Marlene wrote on Facebook.
We have to agree with Marlene here – Vincent had a lot going on in a very short space of time!
Not only did he perform potentially life-saving surgery on baby Harper – who was named after him – but he also had a row over parking with David and took not one but two trips to Roy’s Rolls, where he got chatting to Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove).
On Twitter/X, fans of the ITV soap seemed excited by the possibility of a new character on the cobbles, and it didn’t escape their notice that he was heavily featured in the episode that otherwise solely followed the Platts.
Soaps reporter Maisie Spackman says...
As I was watching the episode, I couldn’t help but think that Vincent Harper would be a great addition to the street. It is rare for a supporting character to be so heavily featured in an episode, which is why I’m with the fans asking if this could be leading to something more permanent.
It felt like Mr Harper was already a fully fleshed-out character from just one episode. We already know about his career and gained insight into his family life with his kids and his husband. We even know his birthday, which is more than can be said for some of our favourite mainstays! (DS Swain, I’m looking at you.)
Even just from the way he interacted with Bernie – putting his foot in it but still managing to come across as likeable – it felt like we had a really interesting character on our hands. Throw in the hints that he may have some link to Billy, and it’s a recipe for a perfect soap addition.
There have been discussions among viewers for a while now about there being too many characters to keep up with, with one of the main criticisms being that it feels like we don’t see a lot of major characters for months at a time, especially if they’re not involved in current story arcs.
While I agree with this analysis, I do believe that there is certainly a place for another recurring character to pop up every now and then, like that familiar, warm jumper we pull out of the cupboard a few times a year. Could Vincent Harper join the likes of Dr Gaddas, Mrs Crawshaw or our favourite hotel receptionist Rafael as one of Corrie’s iconic recurring characters? I can certainly see it. Though I’m not sure how often the residents of Coronation Street will need the assistance of an ENT specialist from Bristol…
Connection to Billy
With it being just days after the pile-up that led to his death, Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) is on the front of every paper and talked about all over the cobbles.
However, our good ol’ surgeon Vince seems to know more about the vicar than you might expect of someone who lives in Bristol.
When glancing at the spread about Billy in the Gazette, Vincent made a comment about how there ‘can’t be many gay vicars’ around. Bernie instantly questioned how he knew Billy was gay, and Vincent muttered something about having read it.
This seemed to be a lie though, as a baffled Bernie pointed out to David that the Gazette hadn’t mentioned it.
Metro reader Jackie was also confused, writing on Facebook: ‘I couldn’t understand how the doctor knew Billy…’
Of course, Vincent’s comment got Metro readers speculating that perhaps he has some connection to Billy.
‘I think the surgeon has more of a story within corrie, how did he know Billy was a gay vicar to Bernie in the caff and way him & Bernie was later on,’ Liz said, before speculating in another comment that he could be an ex-boyfriend.
Babs agreed, writing: ‘I think maybe ex partner or family member.’
On Twitter/X, there was similar speculation.
Vincent also made a comment about how his granny was from Wigan – perhaps he and Billy had a brief fling when they were younger during a visit up north?
Other Metro readers thought there may be a familial connection between the two characters.
‘I think the doctor could be related to Billy? or they are friends? The doctor seemed to know Billy,’ Cheryl pointed out, while Stephen added: ‘Billy’s brother I reckon.’
‘I think the doctor could be Billy’s brother,’ Sinead echoed.
What else has Vincent Harper actor John Hollingworth been in?
Fans may have recognised actor John Hollingworth from some pretty major TV series, including Poldark and The Queen’s Gambit.
He also had a role in the 2012 Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, as well as the 2023 movie Napoleon.
More recently, he has appeared in Mr Bates vs. The Post Office and TV miniseries The Bombing of Pan Am 103.
Everyone loves a bad boy…
If there’s one thing soap fans are prepared for, it’s a character with a dodgy past. It should be in the tenancy agreements that to live on Coronation Street, you need to be hiding a massive secret and have a pile of skeletons in your closet.
Or just one knicker factory boss, if you’re Becky Swain.
So, we can’t blame the Metro readers who found Mr Harper just a little bit suspicious…
‘Vincent’s well dodgy,’ Tushar said, while Shirley agreed: ‘I thought the doctor was acting a bit weird ….’
Corrie fans on Twitter/X also got bad vibes from the surgeon, with many agreeing that he falls into the ‘dodgy’ category.
…And a good guy, apparently
Despite some viewers’ hesitations, others were instantly drawn to Vincent, taking to Twitter/X to ask for him to appear as a regular character.
As I said before, it’s rare in soap to find a character who is just ‘nice’ – almost everyone in Weatherfield is hiding something. But that doesn’t mean we can’t choose to see the best in people.
A saviour for Todd
With hints pointing to a connection to Billy and the rare but not entirely impossible chance that he is a great guy, several Metro readers have questioned if he could be the one to save Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) from the nightmare he is currently living through with Theo Silverton (James Cartwright).
Viewers will know that Theo has been physically and emotionally abusing Todd for months, and Billy was the only person who knew.
Now, he has taken the secret to his grave, leaving Todd in an even more vulnerable position than ever – especially given that Theo killed Billy because he knew Todd had confided in him.
Could Vincent be the one to pick up where Billy left off and help Todd escape Theo’s abuse?
‘If he’s Billy’s ex-partner from years ago, maybe he saves Todd from madman Theo,’ Liz speculated, while fellow Metro reader Mandy agreed: ‘if the doctor was a friend of Billy’s maybe Billy confided in him about what was happening to Todd.’
So, could we be set to see the hero surgeon return to the cobbles and help more characters in need? That remains to be seen. But if he doesn’t, at least we have baby Harper to forever remind us of him.
