Coronation Street’s Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati) is to be killed off in a fire at the Rovers Return that will leave the Weatherfield boozer completely gutted. 

Yet despite dying in the conflagration, Sunita will be suspected of starting the blaze as a revenge attack after her lover Karl (John Munro) reunites with landlady Stella (Michelle Collins). But while the finger points at Sunita, could the real arsonist still be at large?

Gulati announced her departure from the soap back in October 2012, saying that she wanted to dedicate more time to writing comedy: “I’d love to be able to combine my writing and acting career in the future,” the actress said.

The then producer Phil Collinson said of Sunita’s exit: “Viewers can expect something very memorable.” 

This isn’t the first time in the Street’s history that the Rovers has been set on fire. Back in 1986, viewers saw Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) rescue Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) from her bedroom after Jack Duckworth’s (Bill Tarmey) dodgy wiring sparked an inferno: