[Scarlett.]

LET’S face it, even with specs and a beard you can still recognise the late Liam Connor.

Ex-Corrie heartthrob Rob James-Collier left the soap because he didn’t want to be typecast and producers obligingly bumped him off.

Rob, 32, tried not to be noticed as he shopped in Manchester with his girlfriend Lauren Chandiram this week. But everywhere he went he found the soap bubble had not burst. Fans said: “Hello, Liam.”

Liam was killed off last month after two years, murdered by love rival Tony (Gray O’Brien) over his affair with bride-to-be Carla (Alison King) in a gripping plot.

He died after being mowed down by a car during Tony’s stag do that was set up by the lingerie firm boss.

While Rob shops, Liam’s pregnant widow Maria (Samia Smith) is left behind in the soap to mourn and hunt for clues to the truth.

Fans pining for Rob need not fret — he can be found modelling clobber in the Argos catalogue.

News of the World