NEW Coronation Street boss Kate Brooks has teased a big twist for Christmas as Gail Platt leaves the cobbles after 50 years.
The producer – who joined Corrie from Emmerdale earlier this year – has promised a ‘very lively’ exit for Gail after she discovers that her family have betrayed her.
Viewers know Gail is set to marry old flame Jesse in what will be her seventh wedding.
Speaking to The Sun and other media, Kate said: “It’s very fun, it’s a very lively Christmas on the street, lots of bombshells are dropped.
“Obviously, this is set against Gail’s wedding, whether she goes through with that or not, I cannot tell anything.
“But 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.”
And to keep the twist, The Sun can reveal that bosses will not put the episode on ITVX before its evening broadcast.
Kate added: “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.
“She’s been such an icon on the street for such a long time – 50 years of television, which is amazing – and 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’.
“Old school Corrie but just with a real modern twist and I think people will really really enjoy it.”
Kate added: “You 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.
“I’m devastated that Gail’s leaving, it really devastates me cos she’s so iconic and I think that label gets bandied about quite readily but it’s Gail, 50 years she’s been on the street, we’ve watched her grow.
“It was really important to make sure that her exit, her departure, felt really fitting and in keeping with who she is as a character.
Over the years the character of Gail Platt has been the centre of several major plots.
Here we take a look back over actress Helen Worth’s biggest storylines:
Teenage daughter’s pregnancy
One of Gail’s most controversial storylines was in 1999.
It came when her 13-year-old daughter Sarah became pregnant.
Multiple marriages
Gail holds the record for the series’ most married female character.
She has been wed a whopping six times, each one worse the last.
Married to a serial killer
One of Gail’s multiple marriages saw her wed Richard Hillman, who turned out to be a serial killer.
At the climax of the storyline, 19 million fans tuned in to watch Hillman drive his wife and her family into a canal.
Scrapping on The Street
Gail has proved over the years she can’t resist a good scrap.
Her most memorable bust-up saw her attack Eileen Grimshaw on the cobbles in 2004 while in her dressing gown.
Jail bird
In 2010, Gail found herself wrongly banged up in jail.
She was wrongfully arrested for murdering her 4th husband Joe McIntyre.
“But she is there and 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.”
And she said: “I want people to sit down Xmas night with a full tummy, watch this episode, watch Christmas Day and go ‘You know what, that is exactly what I needed’ so that’s what Corrie is this Christmas.”
