List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2018

Josh Tucker, played by Ryan Clayton, made his first appearance on 26 January 2018. Details about the character were announced in early December 2017. Clayton's casting was announced on 16 January 2018. In July 2018, Clayton was longlisted for the "Best Bad Boy" award at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards. He did not progress to the viewer-voted shortlist. Clayton filmed his final scenes later in the year and Josh departs in episode 9575, first broadcast on 1 October 2018.

In July 2019, it was announced that Clayton had reprised his role as Josh, who would return for a story with David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd). He returns for a guest stint and the character is stabbed as part of the story. David becomes the prime suspect for the stabbing and Shepherd admitted that the scripts were vague as to whether David is responsible, so the outcome is unknown. The character returned in the episode broadcast on 18 October 2019 when David spots him in a prison hospital awaiting treatment. Another prisoner then explains that Josh is in prison for drugging and raping someone, like he had to David.

When a vacancy arises at Webster's Autocentre, following the death of their mechanic Luke Britton (Dean Fagan), Josh approaches co-owner Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) and asks if he needs to fix anything in order to prove he is worthy of the job. After a brief interview, despite querying about the number of different towns and garages he has worked in, Tyrone agrees to give Josh the job. Josh also impresses Tyrone by suggesting that they and other street residents should remember Luke by hosting a charity boxing match in his honour.

Over the following months, Josh befriends David and the pair often hang out and go drinking together. This initially causes problems in David's relationship with his girlfriend, Shona Ramsey (Julia Goulding). However, Shona eventually accepts their friendship. When Shona, David and Josh are drinking in the pub with some of their neighbours, Shona comments on the chemistry between Josh and Alya Nazir (Sair Khan). David dismisses this idea leading Shona to tease him about wanting Josh all to himself. Josh overhears this and becomes more flirtatious with David.

In March, Josh spikes David's drink with GHB during a night out. He takes David back to his flat and rapes him. David awakens in Josh's bed and realises with horror what happened to him. When Josh turns up at his house the next day, David confronts him but Josh manipulates David by claiming that they got drunk and had a consensual one-night stand. David's relationship with Shona suffers as a result of his secret rape trauma and he breaks up with her. Josh asks David if he ended his relationship because of their "one night stand" but an angry David tells Josh he is delusional and sick in the head if he thinks David ended his relationship because he wants to get together with him.

When Tyrone pulls out of the charity boxing match, David volunteers to fight his sister Sarah Platt's (Tina O'Brien) boyfriend Gary Windass (Mikey North) in his place despite his epilepsy ruling him out. Josh is refereeing the fight and taunts David during the break. David snaps and brutally beats up Gary in front of the shocked crowd. Josh does not bother to stop the fight. Gary is rushed to hospital where he recovers. Gary thinks David is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of witnessing his wife Kylie's murder two years previously.

David is arrested for ABH but released on bail. David has a one-night stand with new trainee hairdresser, Emma Brooker (Alexandra Mardell) and moves her into his house. However, after his neighbour Aidan Connor (Shayne Ward) commits suicide, David admits to Shona that Josh raped him. David is arrested for failing to turn up at court and Shona confronts Josh who continues to pretend he and David had a consensual one night stand. Josh arrives at Alya's house with flowers and charms her into bed to give himself a cover story in case David and Shona report him to the police.

Josh returns a month later when it is revealed that David had been following him to try and stop him from raping someone else. Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) finds David and tells him to go home. However, once David leaves, Billy tells Ethan (the man Josh is with at a bar) that Josh is a rapist. It transpires that Josh was beaten up by Ethan after he found GHB in his pocket.

Josh is left temporarily blind in the hospital due to the attack. David is happy at Josh's suffering but Billy is wracked with guilt over his role. Billy tries to get Josh to admit his sins but fails. Josh is discharged from hospital in September 2018 and turns up at Billy's flat as he has nowhere to go. Billy reluctantly allows Josh to stay warning him to keep a low profile. Alya discovers that Josh is living at Billy's and tells David, who tells Billy that Josh also raped others so Billy throws Josh out.

In October 2018, Josh apologises for spiking David but is reluctant to admit to rape, giving half-truths. David bundles Josh into a car. Driving Josh to an alleyway, David tells him that he has driven him to the police station and demands him to hand himself to the police. Josh, terrified, pleads to David not to destroy his life, saying he would not cope in jail. He goes on to say he would be branded a rapist and likely to be put on a register. This satisfies David enough to reveal they are nowhere near a police station. Having gotten closure despite Josh not directly admitting to the rape, David drives off, leaving Josh behind.

After David was sentenced to 4 months in prison for fraud, he needed some painkillers, but as soon as he goes to the nurse, he pulls a distressed look when he witnesses Josh in the prison with multiple injuries. He was brutally beaten up by Terry "Tez" Collier for being a rapist. It turns out Josh was sent here for getting caught raping someone and GHB, the sentence was unknown. David was left distressed.

As David's sentence was nearly over, a prison riot occurred because of overcrowding and Abe Crowley (Liam Boyle) told David it was his chance to get revenge. But David protected Josh and went into a cell with him. David forces Josh to admit what he did, Josh admits he raped David and loads of other people, which left David infuriated.

Josh was later stabbed in prison with a pair of scissors. The police take David out of his cell and they charge him with attempted murder along with Abe and Tez.

David pleads not guilty along with the others, but he is refused bail despite his sentence being almost over. Josh lied to the police to frame David for stabbing him. The video showed josh with a scissor stab and David walking out with no traces of blood left on him but the police do not believe David.

David phones Billy Mayhew asking him to talk to Josh in the hospital because apparently they were friends and he listens to him. Billy tries to get contact but he fails.

Paul Foreman disguises himself as a nurse and forces Josh to admit he lied and how much this is affecting David with multiple counts of persuasion.

Josh finally admits to the police he lied, and that Abe and Tez stabbed him. It's unknown what happened but it presumed he was charged with perverting the course of justice.

After David got let out of prison, Billy tells him Josh was charged with another count of rape against him, leaving David relieved.

Josh went on trial for his rape on 3 January 2020, David was left nervous because Shona was not there to support him since she is in a coma, David manages to testify against Josh. On 8 January 2020, Josh was found guilty of raping David and the other people and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Provided by Wikipedia