Coronation Street star Calum Lill has opened up about the warning he received during his audition for the show.

Amid Lauren Bolton’s suspected murder case, it was recently revealed that she was groomed, sexually abused and attacked by Lill’s sinister character Joel Deering.

Despite police believing her to be dead, Lauren made a surprise return to the cobbles this week (July 9), where she revealed she’s expecting Joel’s baby.

During an appearance on This Morning on Thursday (July 11), Lill explained that producers gave him a heads up on the solicitor’s “dark” storyline.

lauren bolton and joel deering in coronation street

“From the email for the screen test [the producers] were like, ‘You just need to be aware it’s going to get very dark’,” he said.

“I had one script which was him being nice and charming and one that was him being not so much, so when I finally got the call saying I got it, I thought, ‘I’ve got a big undertaking now’.”

Lauren fled from Joel earlier this week, but he remains determined to track her down again next week.

Next week’s episodes also see Joel and fiancée Dee-Dee set their wedding date for September 27, but with Joel’s secrets starting to catch up with him, it’s unclear whether they’ll make it to the altar.

Speaking about the storyline, Lill recently explained: “Joel has literally got to fight for his life as he knows it, because he’ll go from being a well-paid solicitor with a nice flat in the centre of town, a nice car, a fiancée, a wedding to plan, a daughter that he loves – to someone in prison with people he’s used to representing.

“He’s got everything to lose and I think that’s not going to make him better.”

On the possibility of Dee-Dee finding out about Joel’s sinister side, he added: “Joel has genuine feelings for his fiancée Dee-Dee – he’s absolutely besotted by her. It’s like a sandcastle falling in front of him if Lauren ruins it.”