Corrie boss Iain MacLeod unveils explosive and ‘thriller-ish’ 2021 storylines

Coronation Street is going to be huge in 2021.

Executive producer Iain MacLeod is promising lots of explosive and “thriller-ish” storylines for the ITV soap in the coming months.

After plenty of drama in 2020, there’ll be no rest for the residents of Weatherfield in the New Year.

Here’s a look at the 2021 spoilers the Mirror can reveal so far…

Faye’s family try to protect her from the police

On New Year’s Eve, Faye Windass confessed to her brother Gary that it was her who attacked Adam Barlow, but it was a case of mistaken identity.

She thought the man in the Bistro was Ray Crosby, her evil boss who tricked her into sleeping with him before later trying to rape her.

Overcome with guilt about accidentally attacking Adam, Faye confides in her brother Gary, and although Adam is now awake and recovering, the trouble for Faye is far from over.

Iain says her family will rally around her in a bid to protect her from the police.

He said: “What will then ensue is a story where this troubled young girl who has been subjected to a terrible ordeal by Ray, finds herself in this really conflicted situation where she knows she’s done something terrible and feels an enormous amount of guilt, but the people around her when they find out what she’s done feel, ‘Well actually you’re the wronged party here, you’re the victim here’.

“So they set in train a sequence of events where they try to protect her from the scales of justice and keep her away from the police and away from court and that brings in loads of different characters, most notably Gary, who I think having done some things over the last couple of years which might be considered a little morally grey at the very least, sort of pulls out all the stops and becomes the hero of the piece for his little sister in a way that I think people will really enjoy.”

Gary’s actions will also create some exciting relationship drama between himself and wife Maria.

Iain also revealed that Ray’s devious plans for the street will continue to create war between him and the angry residents on the cobbles.

Abi takes on Ray and ends up in jeopardy

Ray’s desperation to see his plans for Coronation Street come to fruition will bring him into conflict with his old nemesis Abi Franklin.

Iain said: “She kind of takes him on and her life ends up in a fair amount of jeopardy. That in turn draws in Kevin and Debbie who end up in Ray’s crosshairs as well, and there’s this brilliant power struggle between Debbie and Ray that again is full of twists and turns and literal life-and-death jeopardy.”

Geoff’s death is not the end of Yasmeen’s abuse

Corrie bosses were keen to explore the real-life experiences of people who are abused by their partner like Yasmeen Metcalfe was by her husband Geoff.

When he died in a dramatic showdown with Yasmeen on the roof of their home, her granddaughter Alya Nazir turned to her and told her it was all over now.

But Iain says that’s far from the truth.

He said: “Escaping your abuser, whether that be through death or divorce, in some cases people have had to literally flee the country, you might think that’s the end, ‘Hooray it’s all over’ and some people have said that to Yasmeen already.

“But it’s not. The psychological impact of what happens in these abusive relationships can last forever really. And also the practical side of what’s happened to Yasmeen can last for a long, long time as well.

“We know, for example, that Geoff was embezzling money from her and taking out loans in her name without her knowledge and a lot of that will come home to roost for Yasmeen in a way that threatens to destabilise her recovery from what she’s been through.”

Like on Christmas Day, Geoff will again return to the soap to haunt Yasmeen.

“Anyone that’s clamouring to see Geoff again you will get your wish,” Iain teased.

Will Carla and Peter get back together?

Carla and Peter’s relationship has been dealt a string of devastating blows, from him breaking his sobriety to her sleeping with his nephew Adam.

But is it over for good between them or can they mend their relationship?

Iain said: “They will always remain in love, I think the aftermath of what happened in the 60th will probably be the biggest test for Peter personally, in terms of his mental wellbeing, his physical wellbeing, he’s going to hit an all-time low.

“But in terms of his relationship with Carla, the intention of doing this storyline was always to see them both make a terrible mistake, in Carla’s case it was with Adam and Peter’s case it was hitting the bottle again, so they both make huge mistakes but they come out the other side of it stronger than they ever have done.

“This is supposed to be the last trial by fire of their relationship.”

Peter’s “slow suicide”

Peter’s self-destruction is going to be taken to new depths as he battles against his alcohol addiction.

Actor Chris Gascoyne is said to have immersed himself in the storyline to the point of “method acting” as he overhauls his physical appearance to represent his character’s “fall from grace” in a visually shocking way.

Peter has been told many times that his “next drink could kill him” and bosses wanted to explore that more, including what would happen to Peter’s body if he hit the bottle again.

Iain said: “It’s heartbreaking and exciting but at the bottom of it all it’s a love story between Peter and Carla.”

Peter’s alcohol abuse will also cause a rift between him and his family.

His “self-loathing” is set to feature a lot in the New Year as he embarks on a “slow suicide” that comes to the attention of his horrified loved ones, who will battle to save his life.

Nina’s “unique” love story

Roy’s niece Nina has been hugely popular since she joined the soap, and this year is going to be huge for her.

She’s going to embark on a “fantastic and unique” love story that will leave viewers shocked and pleasantly surprised.

Iain said: “The love story will turn into a massive social issue story that deals with things like the tolerance of people that are part of minority communities and don’t look like everybody else.”

He added: “In the real world sometimes if you don’t look like everyone else that can be incredibly challenging, so we’re going to explore that a little bit in the show to heartbreaking effect, I hope.

“And also it will turn into a story that kind of draws in Roy and Abi and Kevin and just becomes this huge sort-of emotive community story with some of our favourite actors in the middle of it.”

More drama for Asha

Asha went through a tough time when her boyfriend Corey secretly recorded a topless video of her on his phone, only for it to be passed round the entire school.

They went on to patch things up and pick their romance up again, but the relationship is set for more twists and turns.

Iain revealed: “We’re going to see more of Corey, someone we’ve seen intermittently over the past couple of years, who will reveal himself to be every bit as unpleasant as we perhaps expected in his dealings with Asha earlier in the story.”

Simon and Leanne’s grief leads to dangerous situation

Simon will end up in peril as he deals with the loss of his younger brother Oliver, who tragically died from a rare disease.

As he and mum Leanne try to come to terms with Oliver’s death, Iain says they end up in a “thriller-ish, high octane” storyline that will play out over the first six months of the year.

He said: “It ends up with Simon, driven by grief, getting himself into an inescapable situation and that forces Leanne to put her war paint on and go out in defence of her one remaining son and take on an incredibly dangerous situation to try and protect Simon.”

Todd ramps up his efforts to get Billy back

Todd’s toxic love story will be ramped up to another level as he steps up his efforts to get his ex Billy back.

And he’ll finally get everything he ever wanted, only to lose it all again.

Iain said: “He will set out in a very underhand way to undermine Paul and Billy’s relationship, and he’ll ultimately, at least temporarily, look like he’s got everything he wants but unfortunately the lengths to which he had to go to to get what he wants will be the very thing that will be his undoing in the end.

“He kind of gets his happy ending but it’s already got a massive fracture in it and in a very explosive, dramatic, again quite thriller-ish way later in the year Todd’s machinations will all come to light and he’ll end up losing everything again.”

Eileen and George’s will they/won’t they love story

Eileen and George are going to embark on a will they/won’t they love story, hilariously complicated by the fact her son Todd is going to start working at the undertakers with George.

Sean makes dodgy decisions as son Dylan returns to the cobbles long term

Sean’s son Dylan recently briefly returned to the cobbles, but he’s going to make a more permanent return in the New Year.

But Sean will make some morally questionable decisions as he attempts to get his life in order to take on his teenage son.

It’s all changing for the Bailey family

2021 brings about lots of changes for the Bailey family.

Firstly, Grace will return as it’s revealed that Michael is the father of her child.

Their baby will arrive prematurely just before another new family member comes to the cobbles.

Ed’s brother Ronnie will bring a “massive injection of chaos” to the family.

He arrives with a secret and comes in at the “worst possible moment”.

On a cheerier note, James’ homophobia in football story is set to have a happy ending.

But the family will also deal with systemic racism.

Can Johnny and Jenny survive his time in prison?

After Johnny hands himself into the police following the revelation that he man he hit with his car during a robbery years ago later killed himself, he’ll go to prison.

Fans will see how Jenny deals with life on the outside without her husband.

We’ll also find out who Jenny’s recently returned stepdaughter Daisy really is.

Johnny’s MS diagnosis will also be further explored, including what it’s like for a man with that condition behind bars.

* Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV

Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/corrie-boss-iain-macleod-unveils-23223162