Coronation Street spoilers: Leanne Battersby reveals who the father is and Pete Barlow returns

It's been the hottest gossip on the cobbles of late – who is the father of Leanne Battersby's (Jane Danson) baby? All will be revealed on tonight's (22 July) episode of Coronation Street.

Soap bosses teased viewers with a sneak preview of the action-packed episode on ITV's Lorraine today. Fans have been pondering for weeks which Corrie character is the father since Leanne's one night stand with Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) as he struggled through his brief split with Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) – could it be him? Time will tell (a few hours, in fact).

Viewers watched Rovers Return landlord Steve pour his heart out to Leanne's on-off lover Nick Tilsley where he denied allegations of meeting up with the blonde.

He is still very much in the frame, however, and could be expecting two babies on the way as IBTimes UK revealed earlier this week that his partner, Michelle, will soon fall pregnant too. It's going to be one expensive Christmas for Steve.

Speaking of the storyline, Danson revealed that her character pledged to keep the mystery a secret. She told Radio Times: "There's so much going on and her way of dealing with the father is to say they can pretend this never happened and they don't even have to talk about it. But, of course, that's never going to happen. She's quite strong and she thinks she can do this on her own, but she's not really thought it through."

Meanwhile, Corrie's Peter Barlow, played by Chris Gascoyne, is returning to the street. After leaving in 2014 and making a brief appearance for Deidre Barlow's funeral last year, producer Kate Oates wants him back permanently.

She revealed plans to reunite the Barlows and confirmed that Peter will be joined by half-brother Daniel and nephew Adam.

"One of the things I am most excited about and something I consider a real privilege is that I am lucky enough to work on the longest-running soap," she said. "One of the longest-running families on that soap is the Barlows and why would you not want to strengthen that family?

"I love the idea of Ken as the head of the family which has Tracy, Simon and Amy. I am excited to bring Peter back to the show. I am delighted to meet Daniel Osborne, who is his child with Denise and I am excited to bring back Adam, who is Mike Baldwin's son and Ken's grandson," she added.

Leanne might not be too impressed on Pete's return, however, as he is the father to her abusive son Simon. Things are about to get very interesting...

Watch Coronation Street tonight at 7.30pm and again at 8.30pm on ITV.