Iain Macleod, boss of Coronation Street, has revealed Christmas on the cobbles will be ‘controversial’ this year.
Corrie at Christmas usually brings us a bit of cosiness and warmth, but Iain has decided to go in a different direction as a dramatic armed siege takes hold.
The Winter Wonderland extravaganza becomes the scene of the crime when embittered Derek Milligan finds an antique firearm in Gary’s furniture shop.
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He’s a man on a mission to take down Gary Windass, the man he believes responsible for all of his debt problems.
After terrifying the locals in the Rovers, Derek and Gary battle it out at the top of the helter skelter at the funfair.
Fists and bullets will fly – and the consequences will be fatal…
I’m aware the presence of firearms on Coronation Street is very controversial.
Speaking about the decision to make Christmas day high octane rather than cosy, Iain explained to ED! and other press: “Christmas day this year is big and exciting and bit bonkers.
“I think in my long and varied career in soaps we’ve done cosy Christmases and camp Christmases and slightly crazy Christmases and I just thought let’s go for something really big and cataclysmic this year.
“There’s a ton of really high octane action stuff, but there’s also an expectation from a Corrie Christmas that it’s going to have a certain feel and warmth to it, so there’s bags of that as well.”
On the gun storyline, Iain added: “I’m aware the presence of firearms on Coronation Street is very controversial so this wasn’t a decision we took lightly.
“But it just felt there was an interesting side avenue to what Gary’s been doing that hasn’t really been explored yet and doing something involving a firearm felt like a realistic pay off when we’re telling a story about loan sharking and the pressures of poverty and the mental collapse that can cause.
“There is a view that Coronation Street should embrace guns at its peril.
“Obviously Ernie Bishop was killed by a shotgun many years ago so it’s not like this is the first time we’ve done anything of this scale, but equally Coronation Street, and Britain generally has a responsibility to be cautious with how it portrays violence and not just seen to be sensationalising.
“The story was so exciting and felt so right as an evolution of Gary’s journey it felt motivated and exciting rather than gratuitous.”
The boss also confirmed there would be a death on the cobbles as a result of the shoot-out.
“On other soaps death at Christmas is relatively common place, anything like that is a tough decision.
“For Christmas I think the outcomes are the right outcomes and I think the stories justify the decision to go there.”
Rumours have been rife that Robert Preston will be the unlucky bystander who loses his life.
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But with most of Weatherfield involved in the seige and crazed Derek and Gary at the top of a helter skelter, it’s not looking particularly safe for either of them!
Could Gary die as a punishment for all his bad deeds of late?
Or will Derek be the one to depart Weatherfield for good?
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