Coronation Street - every Christmas 2023 spoiler announced so far
Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street has a busy Christmas season coming up – with announcements and spoilers dropping thick and fast over the past few weeks.
News about a significant exit plot and a brand-new arrival are just some of the teasers that have been released in the build-up to the festive season.
Don't worry if you've missed an article or two, though, as we're now rounding up all the major announcements right here in one place.
Peter Barlow's exit
Chris Gascoyne's decision to bow out from the role of Peter Barlow was announced in July. His final scenes were shot at the end of October – and filming photos obtained by Digital Spy showed Peter leaving Weatherfield on a tram.
Before Peter goes, he and his wife Carla will take centre stage in a special episode on Boxing Day.
Corrie producer Iain MacLeod told us last month: "There are a few explosive Peter Barlow-style outbursts that start to bring to Carla's attention that he's really not okay.
"They reach this enormous fork in the road where they love each other, but perhaps their happiness is no longer reliant on each other. Maybe they start to wonder if they'd be happier in some other situation somewhere else, basically.
"It all builds up to this incredibly surprising Boxing Day episode. There's a huge two-hander between the two of them – more or less they are the only two cast in the episode.
"It's a greatest hits compilation for those of you that have been big fans of Peter and Carla since the start. It picks over every single detail of who they are, what they've been as a couple, what they want for their future and what happiness looks like for them.
"It's building towards an exit for Peter, which is really brilliant and bittersweet and feels like Corrie at its very best."
Bobby arrives in Weatherfield
Britain's Got Talent star Jack Carroll has joined the cast of Coronation Street in the role of Bobby – the nephew that Carla Barlow didn't know she had.
Bobby is the son of Carla's brother Rob Donovan. Rob, who's in prison after killing Tina McIntyre, only discovered Bobby's existence recently and hadn't had an opportunity to fill Carla in.
Viewers can expect Bobby to arrive during the festive season, shortly after Carla has said her emotional goodbyes to Peter.
Iain MacLeod recently said: "This was born from the desire not to let Carla tread water for too long [after Peter's exit].
"It's just at the point where this world-ending decision is made on Boxing Day and Carla is going: 'What does the rest of my life look like, when I've decided that happiness looks like this for me?'
"Suddenly we land this huge human hand grenade in the middle of it as Jack's Carroll's character Bobby turns up. He's connected to Carla because he's Rob Donovan's son that Carla didn't know existed. Here he is, suddenly causing all kinds of trouble for Carla with immediate effect.
"Basically what we wanted from Bobby's character and from Jack was a gobby little troublemaker with a heart of gold.
"He's going to be a massive ball of energy for us and loads of fun. He's just going to tip Carla's life upside down in lots of very interesting ways."
Bernie could miss Paul's last Christmas
Corrie has confirmed that Christmas 2023 will be Paul's last, as his Motor Neurone Disease is progressing quickly and he only has months left to live.
Although Paul hopes to enjoy a final festive season with all his loved ones around him, his mum Bernie may be absent after landing herself in trouble with the law.
Bernie is due to face serious repercussions for her recent involvement in selling stolen goods. After she pleads guilty in court, Bernie is told that it's highly likely she'll receive a custodial sentence and miss Christmas on the cobbles.
Iain MacLeod recently warned: "This Christmas, [a] catastrophe arises from Bernie and her historical involvement with Shelly's slightly dubious online scamming.
"It puts her in a massive amount of legal hot water, to the extent that there's every likelihood that she's not going to be present for what will be Paul's last Christmas – and the family might not get to be together for one last festive moment."
Peter Ash, who plays Paul, also recently told Good Morning Britain: "It's quite a sad Christmas really, for Paul. He finds out that he's got six to 12 months left, so it's looking likely this could be his last Christmas.
"So for him, it's just making the most of every little moment and spending it with the family and kids."
Ed hits rock bottom
Ed and Ronnie's father Sarge will be joining Coronation Street in the coming weeks, with former Desmond's actor Ram John Holder taking on the role for a guest stint.
The arrival of the new character coincides with a difficult time for Ed, who has fallen into a downward spiral with his gambling addiction.
Revealing how this story builds up to Christmas, Iain MacLeod recently said: "On the surface it's very fun with the addition of the dad, but underneath it all, Ed's problems are spiralling and mounting.
"It culminates in Ed hitting rock bottom shortly before Christmas. In an effort to keep the wolves from the door, he's forced to do something extremely upsetting and commit a really awful betrayal.
"Ed will feel like he's let himself down in the worst conceivable way. I think the viewers will find it very sad. This man has been driven to a point of desperation, but it's very nuanced and very multi-layered.
"Inevitably it stays a secret for a time, but then there's an explosive storyline that deals with the family discovering what it is that Ed has done. He's cast out into the wilderness and then there's a loyalty battle between the children as to which of them is going to be sticking by their dad and which one's going to cut him adrift.
"The story has really fantastic performances in the middle of it. It just feels like a really strong ensemble piece running all the way to the New Year."
Stu alienates his family
Things aren't looking much better for Stu over the Christmas period, as he remains consumed by jealousy and suspicion over Eliza's dad Dom being back on the scene.
Although it's no secret that Dom can't be trusted, Stu's methods in dealing with the situation are threatening to make matters much worse.
Iain MacLeod recently said: "It's incredibly poignant. Stu makes some incredibly bad decisions in the course of the story, fully believing that he's right. But he makes a total hash of things.
"I think it's fair to say, in the course of that, Stu will seriously endanger his relationship with Yasmeen. After Geoff and Sharif, Yasmeen has profound trust issues when it comes to men – and Stu's behaviour around this story will give her, at the very least, serious pause for thought.
"It's got fantastically good actors in the middle of it. Christmas will be upsetting for that family, in a way that will trigger something a bit bigger as we head into the early New Year and spring."
Tommy Orpington returns
Former Weatherfield County footballer Tommy Orpington was recently announced as a surprise return for the Christmas period.
Ex-Emmerdale and Hollyoaks star Matt Milburn will be reprising the role of guest character Tommy, who was last seen in the show in 2021 when he retired from his sporting career.
Iain MacLeod teased: "You'll see Tommy again on Christmas Day! Since leaving football, he has made some bad business investments, including opening a Tommy Orpington-themed gourmet burger restaurant. They've all gone belly up!
"Tommy's wife has left him – and he's now had to return to the trade he had when he was a non-league footballer, which is painter and decorator. You'd think, given all that, it'd be quite miserable – but he's not at all.
"He's in a good place where we find him. There might be one of our female characters that needs some decorating done. A story evolves where this attractive, historically successful man arrives into one of our female character's lives and upsets the apple cart in fairly spectacular fashion."
The Rovers returns
As the festive season nears its end, the Rovers Return will re-open on New Year's Eve after being closed for two months.
This sets the stage for big drama in 2024, as the circumstances surrounding the pub's big comeback aren't entirely above board.
Iain MacLeod confirmed: "It's not going to stay closed for that long. In fact, it reopens on New Year's Eve, but the interesting thing is that the circumstances of it becoming open again are all tied up with Stephen's legacy.
"Somebody will do something that is at best, naughty, at worst, slightly criminal to get their hands on the keys to the pub and reopen it. So it will reopen, but the reopening of it will be based on this slightly shaky foundation of a criminal act."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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