Producer Iain Macleod speaks
As he lifts the lid on the soap’s biggest stories for 2020, Corrie boss IAIN MACLEOD hints at a “horrific and challenging plot” that is set to have huge ramifications for more than one cobbles clan…
It was certainly an eventful Christmas on the cobbles, and a little different from the cosy Corrie festivities we may have been used to. But according to show producer Iain Macleod – who joins Inside Soap to reflect on Weatherfield’s Christmas gun terror, before we grill him on the drama in store later this year – there’s plenty more to come.
“I’m aware that the presence of firearms on Coronation Street full stop is controversial, so it isn’t a decision that we took lightly,” he explains. “Famously, Ernie Bishop was killed by a shotgun many years ago, so it’s not as though this is the first time we’ve done anything on this scale. Doing something that involved a gun felt like a realistic and truthful payoff to the story we’ve been telling about loan-sharking, the pressures of poverty, and the mental collapse that can cause for people. We were keen to subvert people’s expectations of what they might get from a Coronation Street Christmas episode and, as an evolution of Gary’s journey, it felt motivated and exciting.”
On the back of one of the most dramatic Yuletides ever, Iain isn’t resting on his laurels, considering what the show has planned for 2020. So, pop the kettle on and put your feet up, as he talks us through what we can expect…
Thanks for joining us, Iain! Can we start by talking about David and Shona in the wake of Christmas, and the on-going effects of her heartbreaking situation?
The events of Christmas will provide David and Shona with the biggest test of their relationship – and that’s not an exaggeration if you consider what they have been through already. We sat down and realised that David has never cheated on any of his romantic partners, and we hastened to add that he won’t this time either. However, their relationship is sorely challenged – not just in January, but over the whole of next year.
What about Gary? Surely, it’s only a matter of time before he’s properly exposed for the death and destruction he has caused?
Well, having ridden the storm that ensues after Christmas, Gary finds himself in a relatively stable and happy place with Maria, and then something incredibly difficult happens that throws it up in the air. Meanwhile, Adam is secretly conspiring against him, which will threaten to lead Adam, and therefore the authorities, to Rick’s final resting place. Whether that will actually happen or not is still to be
seen – but that will precipitate a big, explosive story at the time we do our episodes around the Britain’s Got Talent finals week in May. We’re resisting the urge to dig up Rick’s body, because it feels as if everyone is expecting us to. So I hope we’re playing in a good way with the audience’s expectations around that.
As 2020 dawned, Tracy woke up in bed with Paula! Ultimately, what will that mean for Tracy and Steve?
At the back of Tracy’s mind is this terrible suspicion that she loves Steve more than he loves her. So the calamity of her betrayal at New Year will stem from that, and turn into a heartfelt story where Steve is forced to realise that he does love Tracy. That will build towards early spring to a huge story where, having re-established Steve and Tracy’s relationship on its strongest footing, something will happen that has the most far-reaching impact of any story we’ve done since I’ve been on the show. Something horrific occurs that draws in a few different clans on the Street, and forces them to deal with the hardest thing anyone would ever have to deal with…
We were keen to subvert what people might expect of a Corrie Christmas…”