The Christmas schedules for Emmerdale and Coronation Street have been officially announced, and you’re going to be very disappointed if you were hoping to spend a lot of time in Weatherfield and the Dales.
This year, Corrie and Emmerdale’s Christmas Day episodes will only air for 30 minutes instead of the customary hour-long broadcast.
The first show to air is Emmerdale at 6:30 p.m., followed by Coronation Street at 7 p.m.
Given that Emmerdale’s last Christmas Day episode aired in 2004 and Corrie’s last half-hour episode aired in 1997, this is undoubtedly a rare occasion.
As of right now, we are aware that the festive season on Coronation Street will centre around Peter Barlow’s (Chris Gascoyne) poignant departure.
Pictures have confirmed that Peter, the adored character, will leave his family and Carla (Alison King) behind and board a tram in Manchester, presumably to start a new life elsewhere.
As Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb) continues to face difficulties up in Yorkshire, we can expect the Christmas episodes to include more “edgier” scenes than in years past.
“We’ve got some exciting plans but I have absolutely, definitely been sworn to secrecy on this one,” showrunner Laura Shaw teased. What I can tell you is that we’ve done a lighter, fluffier Christmas for Emmerdale the past couple of years, but the tone of this one is very different.
“A lot of it is edgier for us for Christmas, and I can assure you that not all of our villagers will be sitting down to celebrate Christmas Day with their turkey and all the fixings.”
The village is not without hope, though, as Dawn (Olivia Bromley) is about to give birth.
In other scenes, Chloe (Jessie Elland) and little Reuben are still missing, and brother Mackenzie finds it difficult to portray happy families, dasheing Moira’s (Natalie J Robb) hopes for a lavish Christmas.
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