ITV Coronation Street Christmas revealed: Gail twist, jaw-dropping betrayal and Swarla unite
Coronation Street boss Kate Brooks has revealed explosive scenes are ahead this Christmas from a wedding, Swarla being official and a love triangle, to revenge, betrayals and secrets exposed
It’s going to be a super eventful time on Coronation Street this Christmas, with plenty of dramatic twists in store.
New Corrie boss Kate Brooks told The Mirror all about the bombshells set to cause havoc on Christmas Day and throughout the festive period. We’ve got a wedding, the exit of a soap legend and plenty more to keep us going.
Amid Carla Connor and Lisa Swain’s will-they-won’t-they romance, Kate revealed a major update on this storyline, and it’s great news for Swarla fans. But it’s not a happy time at Christmas for some, as there’s betrayals, shocking discoveries, secrets coming to light and some big twists.
We have a good old-fashioned love triangle, as one Barlow realises he has feelings for two women – potentially leading to a big reunion amid an exit. There’s possible splits in store, with one character’s lies rumbled and another Weatherfield resident eyeing up revenge.
What we can reveal is that for those enjoying the stream-first life, the Christmas Day episode will not be dropping on ITVX in the morning, so fans will have to wait until the evening to get their viewing. Here’s the biggest spoilers for Christmas on the Cobbles…
Coronation Street boss Kate Brooks has revealed explosive scenes ahead this Christmas (
ITV)
Gail Platt is leaving the ITV soap (
ITV)
Gail Platt leaves on Christmas Day
Kate has promised a “very fun and lively” episode this Christmas, but warned “lots of bombshells are dropped”. The episode will focus on Gail’s wedding to Jesse, but Kate teased: “Whether she goes through with that or not, I cannot tell anything.”
The Platts will take centre stage in the episode as there’s “twists” with “secrets exposed” and betrayals set to cause all kinds of mayhem. She said: “This is a story with the Platts at the heart of it, it’s really festive, basically it’s a story about family and how secrets impact and implode on a family, so there’s a lot of betrayals, lots of secrets are exposed during this episode and it will 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.”
Confirming Gail will depart in the episode, Kate said: “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 and hopefully people will be crying, they’ll be laughing, there’ll be gasps as people watching it go, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s just happened’ but yeah, old school Corrie but just with a real modern twist and I think people will really really enjoy it.”
Bethany and Daisy battle for Daniel
On there being some Daniel and Daisy scenes ahead amid his romance with Bethany, Kate told us Daniel would be forced to choose between his current flame and his ex. Given Bethany will soon depart the show, most likely temporarily, there’s no doubt set to be heartache.
On Daisy and Daniel, Kate shared: “They’ve been circling each other for a while, that love triangle is brilliant, it’s a love triangle that keeps on giving and we will certainly carry that through through December and into the new year.
“Daniel is in love with two women, that’s what it boils down to, he loves Bethany but he also loves Daisy, and not many people can pull that of, but if anyone can, a Barlow can, and he is absolutely torn over what to do for the best, and it’s ultimately his head over his heart.
“But 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, again, feels nice and soapy which I think is what we want to do with that story.”
Daniel could find himself in trouble as he’s torn between them: Kate shared: “We wonder what the heck Daniel is going to do and how does he ever get out of those holes that he finds himself in constantly. Sometimes when you find the happiness, it comes at a cost.”
Swarla unite
Carla Connor and Lisa Swain are currently torn over their feelings for one another amid dramatic scenes on the ITV soap, but Kate has confirmed there is a happy twist in sight! Viewers are loving the pair and are eager for them to finally get together – and now the time has come it seems.
Kate said: “Carla 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. With Lisa she has a lot of barriers up, she’s still grieving for the loss of her wife, she’s still very much grieving that. Initially it’s Lisa who struggles to let down those barriers, let Carla see that vulnerability.
“It’s really interesting watching Carla navigate this because we know Carla, we love Carla, and this is completely alien and unknown and unchartered waters but 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 and it is, 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 two and there’s a lot of hurdles that come their way, a lot of obstacles, things that they didn’t quite anticipate that get in the way of their relationship, 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.”
On whether the pair go public with their romance, Kate added: “It becomes public knowledge during Christmas. You know what, they are happy during the Christmas period, Carla initially flinches a little bit at the idea of people gossiping, and it’s not about sexuality but she’s a bit unsure. But once she realises everyone is absolutely fine about it, then it’s all systems go, so 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.”
New Corrie boss Kate Brooks told The Mirror all about the bombshells set to cause havoc on Christmas Day
Leanne’s revenge
Leanne will soon uncover her ex Nick and her sister Toyah are together in secret, after the pair’s affair ended her marriage to Nick recently. Leanne isn’t ready to forgive and forget though, with Kate revealing: “You’ve got Leanne, who’s got her suspicions about Nick and Toyah, and I felt it was really important to see a different side to Leanne. 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 she had just being taken away from her.
“And rather than go down the route which is expected, of her taking it on the chin or moving on, she really wants to make them pay and she is really intent on getting her own revenge. 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. That all comes to the forefront on Christmas Day and it doesn’t end well for anyone.”
What else is coming up in the lead-up to Christmas?
Kate teased one character would spiral leading to “massive consequences”, while she also gave away more about what would lead to Gail’s exit after 50 years. She told us: ” For me, what’s so brilliant about it, you’ve got the Platts at the heart of it, you’ve got David and Shona, David has made massive mistakes. This goes on to have massive consequences and Shona hits that self destruct behaviour, 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. But all those secrets come to the forefront on Christmas Day, so you basically have Gail, who’s going to leave the street, in the run-up to Christmas she has 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 and 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, and obviously Gail has had a really colourful past so that’s a big part of that Christmas Day episode, but she is there and she is going to leave the street and it’s going to be so wonderful and sad. You’ve got all these different bombs going off around her and she’s oblivious to them all and it’s wonderful. So yeah, it’s a great Christmas.”