CORONATION Street viewers think they’ve worked out the identity of the Institute boss - and it may be quite complicated.
Rowan Cunliffe (Emhrys Cooper), a mentor at the Altovalent Institute, first appeared on-screen in the ITV soap earlier this year.
He was brought in when Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) accompanied adoptive son Simon Barlow (Alex Bain), who had been drink-driving, to a seminar.
However, Rowan approached Leanne with unsolicited advice and things have spiralled since then.
Viewers have seen Rowan encouraging Leanne to open up about her deepest thoughts and feelings, while she has become fully committed to the Institute, a claimed self-help group.
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Leanne has even been prioritising her new friend and mentor over her family, particularly partner Nick (Ben Price) and stepsister Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor).
In scenes aired last week, Rowan continued to control Leanne’s life by manipulating her every decision and tormenting her sister.
This even went as far has having his cronies dial in a hoax phone call to Toyah, claiming Leanne had been injured in a motorbike accident.
Instead, Rowan brought Leanne to a restaurant where he informed her that she had been promoted.
Therefore, Leanne would be able to recruit her own followers for The Institute.
The charming group mentor introduced Leanne to Willow, The Institute's main woman.
Devoted Corrie fans think there’s more to Willow than meets eye, suspecting clever trickery involving artificial intelligence (AI).
They recalled Leanne has used similar technology to communicate with her late son Oliver, who tragically passed away in 2020, adopting an image of what he might look like nowadays.
One wrote: "Is it me or does Willow look like she's done by AI #Corrie."
Another commented: "Did anyone else think that "Willow" looked computer generated? #corrie”, as a third chimed in: “#Corrie Willow is clearly AI."
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A fellow fan declared: "'Willow is AI, like fake Oliver! #corrie."
While another tweeted: "Obviously Willow is an AI character! ! ! #Corrie."
Coronation Street airs on ITV and is available on ITVX.
