Coronation Street schemer Carl Webster could be fleeing from Weatherfield with his sister Debbie’s hard-earned money, in a worrying new storyline twist. Carl continues to plot his dramatic escape in tonight’s episode, but it seems that financing his big move will be keeping him busy for a while longer.

Aware that Debbie is about to return to work following a holiday with her fiancé Ronnie Bailey, sneaky Carl messes with the hotel’s financial system. His sabotage means that Tracy McDonald doesn’t get paid for supplying the hotel with flowers, even though Debbie had previously approved the transaction.

Once Debbie arrives back, Carl slyly lets her believe that she must have forgotten to ensure that Tracy would be paid. Debbie’s left devastated, confiding in Ronnie about how her dementia symptoms appear to be getting worse.

When Ronnie hints that Debbie should consider reducing her responsibilities, she’s offended and refuses to entertain the idea. In the end, though, she agrees to reduce her hours.

Carl goes a step further, proposing that Debbie remains front and centre at the hotel by doing what she does best – entertaining the guests.

He adds that he’s prepared to look after the financial and admin side of the business, with support from Ryan Connor. This doesn’t sound good…

But how will Debbie respond? And just how light-fingered is Carl preparing to get with those hotel accounts? Fans can see how the drama plays out when the episode airs tonight at 8pm on ITV1, or it’s streaming early now on ITVX and YouTube.

Last week, Carl was seen making a secretive phone call to a friend in Germany and admitted that he was looking to bring his time in Weatherfield to an end.

This is despite Carl appearing to be in a committed relationship with Abi Webster, who’s smitten with him after ending her marriage to Kevin.

“I’m missing Deutschland,” Carl told his mate in last Friday’s episode. “Things haven’t really worked out here. So if you can keep an eye out for any flats, somewhere central?”

When Carl’s pal offered to let him stay for a while, he confirmed: “No, it’ll just be me – flying solo…”