ITV viewers had a moment of déjà vu this week when the ghost of a character from another of the broadcaster's soaps walked the cobbles of Weatherfield.
Actor Ryan Early joined the soap this week as businessman Darren Vance, a business associate of Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin).
Instantly loyal ITV viewers noticed that he looked familiar and quickly pieced together that he had appeared in the soap Heartbeat.
Ryan played PC Thomas "Tom" Nicholson for 15 episodes between 2001 and 2002.
He met his demise in Heartbeat after he volunteered himself as a hostage in exchange for another in a storyline that revolved around two thieves trying to flee the country in a private plane.
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At the airfield, Nicholson was shot dead in a skirmish.
Despite his short time on Heartbeat, he made an impression, with fans of Corrie tweeting that they recognised the actor.
One viewer said: "Loved seeing @RyanJPEarly back on my screen making his debut in tonight's #corrie, looking forward to seeing more Darren Vance and I can't wait to see Stephanie Davis make her debut as Courtney Vance in Wednesday's episode, have a feeling this storyline is going to be good."
Another added: "@RyanJPEarly Loving you already on @itvcorrie, but you'll always be PC Tom Nicholson to me on @TvHeartbeat."
A third chimed in: "Well that's me glued to Corrie for the foreseeable future @RyanJPEarly."
"Ryan was so funny in Heartbeat... great actor," a social media user said.
The star also appeared in the soap in 2011 for one episode as a police negotiator who tried to reason with Jim McDonald, who held hostages at a building society, as he attempted an armed robbery.
Ryan has appeared in many a UK soap, racking up an impressive string of roles.
Along with the shows already mentioned, he has appeared in Holby City, The Crown, Doctors, Casualty, Emmerdale, and the long-running radio drama The Archers.
Coronation Street airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV.
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