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?

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.’

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.

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…