When you think of Christmas night TV, every home’s tradition is to plant yourselves down on the sofa armed with a leftovers sandwich so that you can watch carnage, death and misery unfold in EastEnders.
The day just wouldn’t be the same without tuning in to Walford and seeing that your own Christmas could be much worse.
However, this year, Coronation Street and Emmerdale are coming for the crown of most tragic, violent and deadly festive season in soapland, with all three of your favourite shows going all out to mark the less-than-festive season.
In Weatherfield, the chaos loving Driscoll clan have their feet under the table at the Rovers but with Eva hiding a big secret and Maggie armed with ammunition to reduce the family’s meal to ashes, it’s not long before things kick off in a big way.
Maggie goes all out to destroy Eva but things are going to take an even more grim turn when someone is attacked round the back of the pub – as for who and why, I can’t tell you yet, but there are some nasty surprises in store
Speaking of nasty surprises, vicious and not-so-dead Becky has Lisa and Betsy in her grips, seemingly having got everything she wanted from Santa’s sack. But all Lisa truly wants for Christmas is Carla.
It soon becomes clear that Carla hasn’t in fact been living it up in Lanzarote and could be in some serious danger courtesy of Becky. Are the cobbles super-couple set for the ultimate chunk of coal in their stockings?
Speaking of fan favourite couples facing peril this Christmas, Emmerdale is putting our beloved Robron through the wringer – and then some – once again.
The boys have had quite the year but, while they hoped the worst they had to worry about was Chas’ sprouts, someone has a much nastier fate in store for them.
Looming large are equally unhinged enemies Kev and John, both who are hungry for Robron blood. When Robert goes missing while chasing a lead, Aaron is left in a panic and heads off in search of his beloved.
However, as you have probably guessed, it’s going to go massively pear-shaped and when a gun is pulled, murderous intent may lead to a terrible outcome.
The lads aren’t the only ones with their lives hanging in the balance, either. Her wicked schemes exposed, evil Celia is ready to do a runner from the village and set up her slavery workshop elsewhere. But with Ray besotted with Laurel and seeing what life could be like without his wicked mum, Celia starts to lose her one remaining ally.
This is Celia though, someone who makes the Grinch look positively joyous. No-one crosses her without consequences and if I were to whisper the phrase ‘fight to the death’, I’d be giving you a real flavour of how the year will end in Emmerdale.
That’s just the start! Not that I am wishing Christmas away, but this all leads into the big Corrie and Emmerdale crossover – Corriedale (well, what else would it be called?). I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of the episode and it will blow your socks off. Keep an eye on Christmas because this is everything it’s building to.
It’s not quiet in Walford by any means, though. Zoe’s return has been nothing but shouting, slapping, stalkers and missing kids, and it will all finally come to a head in the Vic.
We’ve seem plenty of festive murders in that pub on the 25th and when the stalker makes their move, there’s every chance there could be another one – life may never be the same for the Slaters again.
Max is also back in the fold – but not for long. He goes full Max Branning and ruins everything he touches. By the time we get to New Year, we will take a peek into him doing exactly the same in a year’s time, with a flashforward to Christmas 2026 dropping some big hints at the drama to come.
We’ll finish on a more poignant note as the ghosts from Walford past are on hand to help Nigel through his darkest times. We have the treat of seeing Pat Butcher and Barry Evans again as Nigel finds himself in a very 90s dressed Vic as his dementia symptoms leave him lost and confused.
The episode promises to be packed with emotion and nostalgia – but will Nigel be able to take a step forward?
I’m just really scratching the surface here – there’s a wedding you will never see coming, shocking news for one struggling family and a big tragedy unfolding.
Have yourselves a very merry Christmas – those in soapland certainly won’t be
Coronation Street airs on ITV and ITVX on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Emmerdale airs daily on ITV and ITVX. EastEnders airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer every Monday to Thursday. All soaps will air for an hour on Christmas Day.
