He has made a name as one of their scariest ever villains.
But it appears Coronation Street’s Pat Phelan (Conor McIntyre) does have a soul after all, as he broke down in tears on Friday’s show following a decision to disown his daughter Nicola (Nicola Thorp).
Fans flocked to Twitter in shock at seeing the notorious murderer cry as he decided to cut all ties with his daughter, following the revelation that she had been hiding teen Seb Franklin in a plot to bring him down.
He has a heart! Coronation Street fans were left shell-shocked on Friday night after the villainous Pat Phelan broke down in tears as he disowned his daughter Nicola
Phelan poured his heart out to Nicola in emotional scenes, as she lay in hospital ahead of a major appendix operation.
Begging his daughter to deny she had been hiding Seb, Nicola failed to respond, leading the builder to sever all contact with her in a tearful moment.
He said: ‘Just say sorry Dad and I’ll forgive you. And then we can move on. Trouble is you don’t believe me do you? So we cant move on. Well maybe I’ve misjudged you eh? Maybe I’ve got you wrong. I certainly don’t want you in my house.
‘You take good care of that baby because I won’t be around to help. And this breaks my heart to say it Nic. I never want to see you again. Ever.’
It’s over: As Nicola lay in hospital, Pat told her he was cutting ties with her, after finding out she had been hiding teen Seb Franklin
Fans of the ITV soap rushed to Twitter following the scene, shocked that Phelan had the emotion to shed real tears.
One wrote: ‘Omg Pat does have emotions and can cry!’ while another added: ‘Phelan is crying I repeat Phelan is crying!’
A third viewer was slightly less convinced by Pat’s tears, writing: ‘Phelan’s not crying, his brain’s just leaking.’
Stunned: Fans of the ITV soap rushed to Twitter after seeing Pat cry, shocking the villain was able to express genuine emotion
It seems this severing of contact between Pat and Nicola will only drive the builder to cover up his crimes even more, with a sinister threat in the show’s closing moments proving no one should get in his way.
Talking to wife Eileen, he said: ‘You’re the only one I trust now love, It’s all that keeps me going. Gary, Seb, Nicola… they can all go to hell.’
Fans will have to wait and see what this means for Nicola, following the dramatic scenes which saw her rushed to hospital after suffering severe stomach pains.
Scary: A sinister threat by Pat in the show’s final scenes proved the builder is not someone to be messed with, saying Nicola could ‘go to hell’
At risk: Pat has been going to more and more extreme measures in a bid to cover up his crimes
As she tried to convince Sarah Platt to give ex Gary another chance, Nicola was struck down with severe stomach pains, which turned out to be from appendicitis.
Considering her unborn baby, the operation could be a great risk for Nicola, but it remains up in the air whether she will survive.
The net has been closing in on Phelan for several weeks now, as he desperately tries to cover up his murders.
It has been reported that he will finally meet his maker at hands of his wife, as they enjoy a cottage break together.
Dramatic: This all came as Nicola was rushed to hospital with appendicitis, with an urgent operation putting her and her unborn baby at risk
An insider told The Sun: ‘Phelan’s murderous ways will finally be revealed while he and Eileen are on a mini-break.
‘But while they’re there the police find the bodies at his building site and Liz tells Eileen about everything.
‘When they start to clash while out walking Phelan tries to go for her and she sidesteps him and throws him into the sea. He’s finally getting his comeuppance.’
Explosive: Fans will have to wait and see the rest of this story unfolds, and how it will feed into Pat eventually getting his comeuppance