Coronation Street has confirmed a surprising baby twist for the recast James Bailey.

The footballer is returning the Cobbles soon with a new actor portraying him (Jason Callender replacing Nathan Graham), and the announcement teased that “he really wants to be a dad”.

Now it’s been confirmed that he will be involved in Dee-Dee’s storyline, as he asks his sister to let him adopt her baby.

In scenes set to air on Monday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 19, Lauren Bolton tells Dee-Dee that she’s so grateful to her for having the baby and promising to donate the bone marrow.

Dee-Dee skips a hospital appointment to spend time with James who has come to visit, but gets an urgent text from Lauren.

Lauren says that another donor for baby Frankie has been found, meaning they won’t need to wait for Dee-Dee to give birth for the operation to go ahead. Dee-Dee, who has already started doubting the whole situation, masks her emotions.

Later on, James makes a shocking suggestion: that he and his boyfriend Danny could adopt Dee-Dee’s baby and give it a loving home.

She’s stunned, but will she agree to his plan?

Callender has teased that James is “determined” and “whatever he puts his mind to he absolutely goes for it”, hinting that he might really push his sister to say yes.

He added: “James is bringing a lot of warmth, a little bit of love, charisma and a little bit of charm.”