Coronation Street fans have been watching the story of Joseph Brown's disappearance with interest, and they have quite a few questions.
Chesney Brown and his partner Gemma Winter were upset to learn that Chesney's son Joseph was being bullied at school because they can’t afford to buy him things.
Last week the 10-year-old went missing after kebab shop worker Chesney reported the bullying to his school.
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While a police search was launched and £30,000 in reward money was raised for his safe return, Joseph was being hidden by his cousin Hope Stape.
He was returned home by family friend Clint Stubbins who spotted the children and gave them £100 each as a bribe so he could claim the reward.
Gemma and Chesney living in poverty was highlighted again when Gemma, who has two-year-old quadruplets with her fiance, blasted her mum Bernie for buying bread without telling her first.
She told her that neighbour Craig Tinker was baking a loaf for them instead to save money.
Gemma later suggested making tomatoes on toast for the family's tea.
And Joseph, who has been keeping his £100 stashed away, was mortified when he was told he would have to borrow the school laptop after his tablet was broken and they couldn't replace it.
But Corrie fans took to Twitter to say they were baffled by the story.
@Jazzypap wondered: "They never mention the benefits available to families in Ches and Gemma’s position e.g. child tax credits and child benefit just for starters…baffling! #Corrie"
@ladychloe89 asked: "Why is their no mention of benefits on soaps. Surely at the least Chez and Gemma would be on universal credit & child benefit. #corrie."
@Emma_LouiseMSD said: "Apparently benefits don’t exist in soaps. Realistically Gemma and Ches would be entitled to a lot of help, especially in that Gemma didn’t expect to have quads."
@ginger_tabbie asked: "So why are Ches & Gemma not using a food bank?"
@carol90783713 wondered: "How are Ches and Gemma so skint??They not Working tax Credits in Weatherfield??"
While @Rozzy67 said: "Poor Joseph, kids living in poverty is a very real thing ... wonder if The Government are watching."
And @Rozzy67 said: "There are thousands of working families living in real poverty, benefits barely keep some families afloat, it's a very realistic storyline."
Another issue still puzzling viewers is the absence of the quads, who can be heard crying but never seen in the ITV soap.
@Back2tiptop said: "I’m calling Social Services. Why are Gemma and Chesneys quads not allowed downstairs?"
@fonejacker83 said: "Another episode and still no sign of Gemma’s quads. Do they spend their life asleep upstairs or are they invisible?"
@Dayjur11 asked: "Have the quads even left their bedroom for the past 12 months?"
And @see75 said: "I think Gemma and Chesney need to prioritise searching for their missing quads!"
Coronation Street's producer Iain MacLeod has previously explained why the quads Bryn, Cleo, Carys and Aled haven't been on-screen.
"I love that family a lot," he told the Manchester Evening News.
"I wish, for many reasons, that there hadn't been a pandemic-related containment of our filming but what that has meant, among other things, is that we haven’t been able to see much of the quads and the children as much as we would have liked.
"And the fact is, we probably still can't see as much of the children as we'd like. But, it felt like we were now able to examine that house a bit more."
