Coronation Street Odds: Who Started A Fire At The Platts' House?

Just six weeks have passed since Coronation Street icon Gail Platt swapped Weatherfield for France, and show bosses have wasted no time in burning her old house down. 

Corrie characters were left shocked recently when David Platt's (Jack P. Shepherd) abode, No.8 Coronation Street, went up in flames. 

The blaze was started when a hooded figure posted a rag through the letterbox and then dropped two lit matches on it. 

Toyah Habeeb (Georgia Taylor) and Max Turner (Paddy Bever) were rushed to hospital after they were pulled from the burning house, but the culprit remains at large. 

DC Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) is desperate to find out who the arsonist is, and a quick glance at the market on betting sites might be able to help the Corrie copper with his inquiries. 

Shona And Max's Insurance Scam? 

Shona Platt (Julia Goulding) and Max both ran into their burning house when it became clear Lily Platt (Brooke Malonie) might be trapped inside - but could it have been a guilty conscience? 

Earlier in the night, Shona had gone out to pick up Sarah's birthday cake, giving her time to start the blaze, which could've been for an insurance scam. 

She is just 6/4 on betting apps to be the culprit, but some think there is a 13/8 chance Max may have done it.

Corrie fans already know Paddy is leaving the soap, and it was speculated that he might perish in the blaze. 

However, he now looks set to survive, so could his exit be a prison sentence for arson instead?

One reason why not is that Max was in the Bistro around the time the fire would've been started. 

Another unsuspecting member of the Platt family could also be a suspect, however. 

Shona and Max ran into No.8 in case Lily was in there, but could Lily (3/1) have started the fire herself? 

It seems unlikely, but soap culprits often are the least likely suspects. 

Hope Stape (Isabella Flanagan) could have given her the idea, or even be under suspicion herself. 

Youngster Hope (6/1) has a history of being a firestarter after she accidentally set fire to her living room last year when her vape caught alight. 

David's Dodgy Search 

There is also some evidence pointing towards David being the culprit, but he claims to have an alibi. 

Following the blaze, David's sister Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) spotted he had been searching house fires beforehand. 

She told him, "Can you explain how your recent searches include 'arson' and 'house insurance'? My nephew's fighting for his life in there."

However, he protested: "I went online, I did a little search on how to potentially set fire to your house without it looking like arson. But that's all I did, alright? I just thought about it."

On the night of the fire, David wasn't at Sarah's birthday party when the fire started. 

Earlier, he was seen in conversation with his dodgy prison mate Andy Garland (Andrew Goth), who asked him, "Are you sure about this?" 

He replied: "I haven't got much choice."

It later becomes clear that Andy has served time for insurance fraud.

When David's brother Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) discovers this, he shops David to the police, and David, who is 15/8 to have started the fire, is arrested. 

David needs money to pay off gangster Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor), so an insurance scam would make sense. 

However, David insists to Shona that he was acting as a getaway driver for a robbery at the time. 

But when police questioned him, David couldn't tell them that, and Andy (4/1) refused to give him an alibi.

Leanne Or Abi The Firestarters? 

Others in the frame include Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), who is just 2/1 to have started the fire. 

Leanne told Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) she couldn't remember where she had been on the night of the blaze. 

However, the drunk character woke up in Victoria Gardens with a box of matches in her pocket. 

After giving her a false alibi, Steve's conscience caught up with him, and he shopped Leanne to the police. 

What's more, Abi Webster (Sally Carman) argued with Toyah before the blaze, and she was hallucinating while lighting a match. 

She has been suffering with her mental health following the death of Mason Radcliffe (Luca Toolan) and is 5/2 to have started the fire.

Even if it wasn't her, could she end up taking the blame? 

Mason's brother Logan Radcliffe (Harry Lowbridge) is one of Gaskell's pawns, and he had been strongly suspected of starting the inferno after he was spotted walking past the aftermath when Toyah was unconscious outside No.8. 

However, despite him confessing to his brother Mason Radcliffe’s (Luca Toolan) murder, Logan (5/1) is now apparently in the clear about beginning the blaze, thanks to a "solid alibi". 

What's more, Nick couldn't find Toyah (12/1), who was supposed to be working in the Bistro office.

But she had been attacked by Abi, meaning she is doubtful to have started the fire. 

It's also unlikely to be David's grandmother, Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls), but Nick did mention shortly before the blaze that his gran (8/1) had been "delayed" in arriving at the party.

Could she have set alight No.8 for insurance purposes? It's possible. 

Or how about 10/1 outsider Jack Webster (Kyran Bowes)? 

He came into the Bistro just after the Platts discovered the fire, but it would be surprising if he was to blame.