Coronation Street spoilers reveal all on Christmas 2024

As we gear up for another festive season on the cobbles, Coronation Street producer Kate Brooks teases what we can expect this Christmas.

Gail leaves Weatherfield

The big story this Christmas will of course be the departure of Gail Rodwell (Helen Worth), after 50 years and 5 months on the street.

The Platt family were all stunned by the return of Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson) in September after a 14-year absence from the street, when it was subsequently revealed that he was in a secret relationship with Gail! The two had bumped into each other in Thailand a few years ago and kept in touch, with Gail going to visit Jesse whilst claiming to her family that she was out at life-drawing classes.

Following a recent heart attack, Gail decided to live life to the fullest by asking Jesse to marry her, sending shockwaves through the entire family.

“She’s literally a Greek myth,” David remarked as he contemplated his mum getting wed for a sixth time. “You marry her, you die. I don’t know what they all see in her!”

The two look set to exchange nuptials on Christmas Day, but naturally there’ll be a few hurdles along the way leaving everyone to wonder if the ceremony will even go ahead.

“In a word it’s very fun,” producer Kate Brooks revealed to EverySoap and other media at a press event earlier this month. “It’s a really lively Christmas on the street, and lots of bombshells are dropped.”

“Obviously, this is set against Gail’s wedding, and whether she goes through with that or not I cannot tell. But this is a story with the Platts at the heart of it, it’s really festive. It’s a story about family and how secrets impact and implode on a family”

“There’s a lot of betrayals and secrets are exposed during this episode, it will feel like classic Corrie with a bit of a twist. I think we’re all in need of a bit of escapism at the minute and we’ve had quite a dark but brilliant few months on the cobbles.”

“The Christmas period for us is all about trying to tap into the family dynamics of the Platts, what makes people tick and ultimately trying to make sure that we give glorious Gail the exit that she deserves. She’s been such an icon on the street for such a long time—50 years of television, which is amazing.”

“We can’t tell a story on Christmas Day about her exit without it feeling and being steeped in nostalgia, and there’s tons of nostalgia in this episode. Hopefully people will be crying, they’ll be laughing, and there’ll be gasps as people watching it go, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s just happened’.

“It’s old-school Corrie but just with a real modern twist and I think people will really, really enjoy it. I want people to sit down Christmas night with a full tummy, watch this episode, and go ‘You know what, that is exactly what I needed’.”

---

Shona and David

Recent weeks have seen David (Jack P Shepherd) and Shona (Julia Goulding) at odds after her son Clayton (Callum Harrison) made an unexpected return into their lives. Currently imprisoned for the brutal killing of David’s first wife Kylie (Paula Lane), Clayton had reached out to his mum after speaking with a therapist.

David had intercepted the visiting order requests, hiding those that came through the post and diverting emailed ones to Shona’s spam folder, and decided to pay a visit to Clayton himself. After David brutally lied to Clayton, telling him that as far as Shona was concerned he was dead to her, Clayton attempted to take his own life.

David has been keeping this secret from a distraught Shona, who Clayton is now refusing to see, ever since, but all is soon set to blow up…

“David has made massive mistakes in hiding visiting orders from Clayton, this goes on to have massive consequences,” Kate teases. “Shona hits that self destruct button in the build-up to Christmas, and makes some really terrible judgement calls. But what is important for me about David and Shona is that they can both really mess up, but that love that they have is so strong. But can they overcome that? I don’t know.”

“All those secrets come to the forefront on Christmas Day. Gail, who’s going to leave the street, has in the run-up to Christmas found out that some of her nearest and dearest have absolutely betrayed her.”

“She doesn’t know who to believe, even her dear old mum has kind of lied to her and she really struggles with that. She’s a bit like ‘I don’t know whether I want this, I don’t know whether I want to be with Jesse’, she contemplates and questions everything and every decision she’s ever made.”

---

Bethany, Daniel and Daisy

Further down the Platt line, the love triangle between Bethany (Lucy Fallon), Daniel (Rob Mallard) and Daisy has been bubbling away quietly over the past few months, but is set to come to the surface again over the Christmas period.

It’s been clear that Daniel and Daisy still have feelings for each other following their split. Daisy’s new beau Ryan (Ryan Prescott) recently ended his and Daisy’s relationship figuring she was still in love with Daniel, whilst Bethany has always had concerns in her relationship with Daniel that she was having to live up to his ex.

It was insecurities over her body that saw Bethany undertake liposuction surgery, whilst writing an advertorial on a Turkish clinic. But when the surgery went wrong, Bethany was left on the brink of death with sepsis, and was devastated to learn she’d have a stoma bag for the rest of her life.

This put her relationship with Daniel under further strain, briefly dumping him over fears that he would no longer want to be with her. Daniel assured her that he would be there for her no matter what, but Bethany has still struggled with intimacy. In the meantime, Daisy is currently single though enjoying occasional flirty banter with Kit (Jacob Roberts).

“It’s a love triangle that keeps on giving and we will certainly carry that through through December and into the new year,” Kate reveals. “Daniel is in love with two women, that’s what it boils down to, he loves Bethany but he also loves Daisy. Not many people can pull that off, but if anyone can, a Barlow can.”

“Daniel is absolutely torn over what to do for the best, and it’s ultimately his head over his heart. He wants to be with Bethany, he wants to channel his love and his future with Bethany, but sometimes when you make a little mistake, things can come back and bite them on the bums, so that’s essentially what we’re doing with that triangle.”

“For me, the rivalry between Daisy and Bethany is fantastic, it’s so fun to watch and feels nice and soapy which I think is what we want to do with that story. Obviously, there’s other issue-led stories around it, but for me that love triangle dynamic is going to be super interesting—and super exciting as we wonder what the heck Daniel is going to do, and how does he’ll ever get out of those holes that he finds himself in constantly!”

There’s no good guys or bad guys, it’s just these three people have found themselves in this situation and they just want to find their own happiness… but sometimes when you find that happiness, it comes at a cost…”

---

A Battersby Christmas

Speaking of love triangles, there looks to be plenty of fireworks between Leanne (Jane Danson) and Toyah (Georgia Taylor), as Leanne plots revenge over her sister’s secret relationship with Nick (Ben Price).

Nick had embarked on an affair with Toyah as fiancée Leanne became consumed by her involvement with Rowan (Emrhys Cooper) and The Institute. Although Nick lost both sisters when the truth was revealed, he and Toyah eventually resumed their relationship, hiding it from Leanne in the hope of shielding her from more hurt.

But as this week’s episodes have shown, Leanne is already beginning to cotton on…

“It’s fantastic for the viewer, I love it,” Kate enthuses. “Leanne’s got her suspicions about Nick and Toyah, and I felt it was really important to see a different side to her. She’s had a very tough year, she’s had The Institute which was all consuming in many ways. But she’s a Battersby and she’s scrappy and she’s feisty, and Toyah is so good and so brilliant and wonderful, and she sees the life that has just being taken away from her.”

“Rather than go down the route which is expected, taking it on the chin or moving on, she really wants to make them pay and she intent on getting her own revenge. It can be at the detriment of her own sanity sometimes, but she wants to make them realise what they’ve done to her.”

“Nick’s betrayal is one thing, but the betrayal of a sister is huge, and I just love that dynamic between Toyah and Leanne, I think it’s fantastic. Just tapping into how they were as Battersbys was really important, and that all comes to the forefront on Christmas Day, and it doesn’t end well for anyone…don’t ever spend Xmas Day with your ex and your sister!”

---

Carla and Lisa commit to each other

It’s good news for Swarla fans, as Carla (Alison King) and Lisa’s (Vicky Myers) relationship steps up a gear in time for Christmas.

Carla had found herself confused over her feelings for Lisa over the past few months, never having explored that side of her sexuality before now. Urged by Ryan to tell Lisa how she felt, Carla finally plucked up the courage to kiss Lisa, with the two then sleeping together.

They found resistance in the form of Lisa’s daughter Betsy (Sydney Martin) however, who feared that Carla was attempting to replace her late mother Becky.

“They’ve been circling each other for a while, the attraction is there, the chemistry’s palpable, they’re both very strong, independent, stubborn, brilliant women, and they found themselves drawn to each other,” Kate tells us.

“For Carla, this is quite huge, she’s had a lot of history with men, a lot of failed relationships, a very colourful past and then she’s found herself falling in love with a woman. It completely blows her mind, she doesn’t quite understand it at first but she kind of goes with it and I think it’s important for us to show that she’s not struggling with her sexuality, she’s very confident, but she has fallen in love with a person that she didn’t expect to fall in love with, and that presents many challenges and I think irrespective of gender.”

“Lisa has a lot of barriers up, she’s still grieving for the loss of her wife, her hero police-officer wife who died in the line of duty. She’s still very much grieving that, and she’s so committed to her job. If anyone’s got issues with the relationship, initially, it’s Lisa who struggles to let down those barriers, and let Carla see that vulnerability.”

“Carla’s in a bit of a tailspin, she’s like ‘I’ve fallen in love with this woman but she’s hard work’, she makes Peter look easy! And I think that’s what the story is really for those two.”

“You throw Betsy, who is fabulous and feisty and a pain in many ways but so wonderful, into the mix and Carla’s in a completely different world. Yet she navigates them really well and it’s just going to be an absolute ride. We want to keep them secure, we want to keep them grounded, we want to make that relationship really believable. What I’ve seen on screen is fantastic between the two of them, and I think it’s really important to tell these stories properly.”

“At the heart of it is a relationship, it’s a love story and they will, inevitably, get a lot of curveballs thrown their way. 2025 is not a quiet year for them, and there’s a lot of hurdles that come their way, but ultimately they emerge from this strong and united.”

“I’m really excited to be with this couple on this journey, I think the drama and the story they’ve given us already is immense and there’s going to give us a lot more of that.”

“They become public knowledge during Christmas, and they are happy during the Christmas period. Carla initially flinches a little bit at the idea of people gossiping—it’s not about sexuality, but she’s a bit unsure. Once she realises everyone is absolutely fine about it, then it’s all systems go! Christmas will be when they really commit to each other, when they declare how they feel each other, and when they stop circling each other and touching each other’s hair.”

---

With the promise of a great Christmas on the cobbles and a “fitting departure” for Gail, Kate confirmed to us that the show will not getting an early release on ITVX on Christmas morning, to ensure that all viewers can enjoy it without the fear of any outcomes being spoiled.

Once the festivities are out of the way, be sure to look out for a preview of many big stories heading our way in 2025.