Soap fans left guessing over tricky Dicky's death

Street serial killer Richard Hillman drives his family headlong into a canal but fans of hit soap Coronation Street were today left guessing whether the dramatic scenes spelled the end for the soap’s “Tricky Dicky”.

Having confessed to wife Gail about his latest killing, the callous conman appears to be intent on taking her and his stepchildren, Sarah and David, to a watery grave.

But fans of the soap, which last month saw 17.5 million tune in to see Hillman’s latest murder, were kept in suspense as bosses revealed the scene was just one of “several” endings planned for the killer.

Suspicion is mounting in Weatherfield after Hillman bludgeoned hairdresser Maxine Peacock to death and nearly killed Emily Bishop in a bungled robbery designed to frame Aidan Critchley.

But determined not to go quietly, Hillman – who fans have already seen murder his ex-wife and leave his business partner to die following a building accident - appeared to be set on adding his closest family to his killing spree.

With Gail and the children bound and gagged inside, he drives the family’s silver people carrier into a Weatherfield canal.

The dramatic scenes were shot on location in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, with the help of the same stunt specialists who worked on recent James Bond films, Die Another Day and The World Is Not Enough.

But even as the cameras rolled, show insiders remained tight-lipped as to whether the dramatic scenes would ever be screened.

“Several” alternative cliff-hanger endings were still to be filmed, all of which would see British soaps’ first serial killer meet a grisly end and the lives of his family placed in serious danger.

Plans for each gripping finale – due to be shown on ITV1 next month – were being kept under wraps and a Coronation Street spokeswoman said the final decision about how Hillman died would not be made until the last minute.