Coronation Street killer Stephen Reid narrowly missed being found out on Monday night, as he prepared to claim a third victim.
The secret murderer picked up a weapon and swung his arm ready to hit client Rufus over the head - but fans were far from impressed.
His weapon was a hole punch, and it wouldn't be the first time Stephen had used it to silence someone.
Just months ago he murdered Teddy Thompkins with the same weapon, after Teddy discovered Stephen had killed his son Leo back in September.
Fresh from putting Carla Connor's life on the line last week, Monday night's episode saw him about to strike again in a plan to murder Rufus.
Rufus began blackmailing Stephen over him drugging Carla with LSD, which Rufus had provided him with.
Stephen has been blackmailing the newcomer for weeks after catching him with a sex worker, and he convinced him to give him the drugs.
But the tables have turned, and this week Rufus threatened to expose Stephen and what he's been doing to Carla unless he gave him sole exclusivity to the factory's new fashion line.
Stephen had a contract ready to be signed by a US client, to share the rights with them and Rufus, a separate client.
Rufus decided this wasn't enough though and told Stephen to ditch the US team and work with him only on the clothing line.
He then threatened to tell all of the workers and Carla what had been going on if this did not happen, leading to Stephen plotting his demise.
As Rufus turned away, Stephen charged at him with the hole punch ready to strike, only for Michael Bailey to walk in.
While Michael did not see anything, he did stop the murder with seconds to spare - so what will Stephen do next?
It comes after Friday's episode saw Carla leave the street as she decided to get help for what she thought was a psychotic episode, having suffered from one in the past.
What she has no idea about is that her apparent mental health struggles are in fact side effects from the LSD Stephen is drugging her with.
Meanwhile, fans of the show fumed over the latest murder attempt and Stephen once again turning to stationary as a weapon.
Taking to Twitter, one viewer said: "#Corrie oh please …… #staplergate is getting pathetic now coronation street has turned into 'carry on Corrie ' get rid of this pathetic storyline and Stephen too. Ffs scriptwriters get a grip."
A second added: "Nope not buying Stephen as a serial killer boring zzz," as a third fan added: "I literally burst out laughing #Corrie is now a Xmas panto and Stephen is ‘behind you’ yet again with the bloody stapler."
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X.
