Gary (played by Mikey North) was revealed to be alive and well after Weatherfield was hit by the news that he had perished in an explosion in Ukraine.

The Coronation Street favourite made a low-key comeback, with his girlfriend Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) and her daughter Bethany (Lucy Fallon) coming home to find him on the sofa ready to make them a cup of tea.

It transpired that, although Gary's belongings had been in the blast, he hadn't, and he was shocked to hear that there had been reports of his death.

An emotional Sarah rushed to embrace her love in a tearful reunion, relieved to learn that he was alive.

She was so delighted to see him again that she proposed later in the episode, but it wasn't long before their wedding plans were cut short by a devastating blow.

David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) found out about Gary's fling with Nicola Rubinstein (Nicola Thorp) and how she fell pregnant with his lovechild, and couldn't stand seeing Sarah so overjoyed yet unaware of the betrayal.

David soon told his sister the truth and, heartbroken by the news of Gary's infidelity, Sarah confronted her boyfried, calling things off and kicking him out of her house.

Meanwhile, fans of the ITV soap were stunned at Gary's return, rushing to Twitter to share their astonishment, with one exclaiming: "Wait… Gary is alive?!"

"OMG!! Gary's alive," said another, while a third added: "Gary still alive? WTF?"

However, several were not exactly bowled away by his reappearance, as many viewers were convinced that the character would be making a dramatic Christmas comeback.

"Love how everyone seemed to be in the dark about Gary," one unimpressed fan tweeted. "Thought he wasn't coming back til Christmas if at all!"

"Ffs Gary's back already," another raged. "Was supposed to be a big Christmas comeback."

Coronation Street continues Monday at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.