Coronation Street‘s Bernie Winter-Alahan catches the eye of a mysterious man called Mal next week, as she drowns her sorrows over Billy Mayhew’s death. But when Mal invites Bernie up to his hotel room, will she drunkenly do the dirty on her husband Dev?

After Billy’s tragic funeral, Bernie lets Dev know that she’s heading out to blow off some steam with the girls. Alongside daughter Gemma, Sally Metcalfe, Glenda Shuttleworth and Christina Boyd, Bernie knocks back shot after shot, then claims she’s turning in for the night.

However, Bernie actually heads for the Chariot Square bar, where Mal makes himself known – then invites her back to his hotel room.

“Bernie shouldn’t be drinking heavily right now,” our Corrie source explains. “Dev can see that, so he advises Bernie not to go out on the lash in the first place. Not that Bernie listens!

“After a boozy night with her besties, Bernie tells them that she’s going home but ends up at the Chariot Square on her own instead. Well, until Mal turns up, that is.

“Mal tells Bernie that his wife cheated on him, leading her to open up about Paul and Billy. Ryan Connor then asks the drunk pair to leave, but not before Mal asks Bernie to join him upstairs…”

The next day, Dev is distressed by the fact that Bernie didn’t make it home after her night out. Kit Green and Asha Alahan both try to convince Dev not to worry, but it’s much easier said than done.

Meanwhile, in the café, Sally treats Brody Michaelis to a birthday breakfast, while Gemma admits to Roy that she’s worried about her mum. Nearby, Ryan overhears Gem’s confession – but will he let slip what he knows about Bernie’s night out?

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“It’s only right that Bernie’s family are stressed out,” our spy continues. “She does eventually arrive home, but it’s awkward timing as Dev, Asha, Gemma and Chesney are all together and about to set off for Brody’s birthday party. Bernie sure has a lot of explaining to do, which won’t be fun with a hangover from hell…”

Outside No.4, Bernie confesses to Gemma that she messed up last night. However, Bernie’s day goes from bad to worse when she turns around to see Mal heading right towards her.

With Mal now on the Street, will Bernie reveal exactly what went down after her girls’ night out? And should poor Dev brace himself for heartbreak?

Newcomer Mal is connected to another storyline, as viewers first see him when he turns up in Weatherfield to confront Roy Cropper.

Roy is shocked when Mal introduces himself as the husband of Alice – the woman who has been exchanging letters with the café boss.

Meanwhile, show bosses announced Bernie’s new storyline earlier this year. Producer Kate Brooks told us: “We take Bernie on a really interesting journey as she struggles [over Billy’s death]. It gets to the point where, because it’s been bubbling for such a long time, it eventually erupts.

“When it does, there are consequences for Bernie. It’s not as straightforward as Dev sweeping in and making sure that everything’s okay. It’s a really muddy, murky story that we take her on. I think it just again explores another side of Bernie that we’ve not seen yet.”