The Catholic Priest heard a confession from Pat Phelan in August 2017 when the builder had an uncharacteristic attack of conscience about his wrongdoings. Phelan ruminated on human nature and whether people who passed him in the street wondered about him and the things that he did and was still doing. The priest asked him for specifics and Phelan first checked that whatever he told him would remain a secret between them. The priest confirmed that that was the case under the “seal of the confessional” likening it to the adage, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Even then Phelan couldn't bring himself to offload the guilt that was consuming him and walked out of the confessional box and the church without saying a further word.
- At the time of the transmission, viewers were unaware that Phelan was holding Andy Carver prisoner in the cellar of an abandoned house after the young man had discovered that he had let his father Michael Rodwell die in front of him without assistance, and he was also behind a crooked scam to get people to buy flats at a supposed development at Calcutta Street, intending to abscond with their money.