Viewers are gearing up for Peter Barlow’s emotional exit but there’s more drama to come to the cobbles after the legend’s departure.
CHRISTMAS is an exciting affair for many Weatherfield residents – but it’s also the end of an era for Peter Barlow.
Changes are coming to Coronation Street this week and ahead of a brand new year. How will fan favourites cope?
1. Newcomer keeps huge secret
Peter Barlow (played by Chris Gascoyne) has spent most of his life in the cobbles, thus becoming involved in plenty of dramatic storylines throughout the decades on ITV.
In early April, 2023, the beloved cabbie celebrated his 58th birthday and after mowing over Stephen Reid in October, 2023, Peter believes it’s time for him to have a fresh start away from the Street.
As viewers will recall, Peter has been struggling with his guilt over the serial killer’s death.
In scenes due on our screens ahead of Christmas, he makes the decision to leave Coronation Street and chooses to sacrifice his marriage to Carla Connor (Alison King) in the process.
Coming up, Peter gives Carla a beautiful present, a silver bracelet inscribed with “P loves C.”
But he is shocked when she reveals what she has bought him.
The pair look back over their tumultuous and long courtship before realising that, although they will always love each other, maybe they are better off apart.
They sit down to their last supper together but will these soulmates be able to come to terms with a future without each other?
Later on, Peter waves an emotional goodbye to everybody he holds dear in the cobbles and Carla gets a surprise.
According to the actress who portrays her, Alison King, Carla will be focusing on her business, the Underworld factory.
But if fans were speculating a downward spiral for her, they will be proven wrong with her nephew’s arrival in Weatherfield.
“In the factory people are walking on eggshells around her and she doesn’t want that, it was going to be tough so Bobby arriving has kind of snapped her out of that because he’s so much trouble”, Alison told Manchester Evening News.
“Him coming in and creating havoc a little bit, and her having to support him in lots of different ways stops any self indulgence. So that’s been amazing.”
Following her husband’s exit, Carla reveals that she and Peter have parted company and her pal Roy Cropper (David Neilson) is concerned for her.
Carla announces she’s going to work from home and hurries out, almost knocking a lad called Bobby over on the factory steps.
Bobby calls at Street Cars flat, prompting Carla to buzz him in expecting a pizza delivery boy.
However, she gets a huge shock when Bobby reveals that he’s her brother Rob Donovan’s son.
Rob Donovan was sent to prison for the murder of Tina McIntyre and is only due for release in 2039.
Could his son Bobby (portrayed by Jack Carroll) be just as devious as his father?
Why is he in Weatherfield?
What does he have planned for Carla?
2. Brand new affair
Meanwhile, another member of the Barlow family is set for her own dramatic storyline, as viewers have suspected.
This week, Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) is far from impressed when she realises this will mean she needs to cook for a group of ten people.
To make matters worse at No.1, a joke about relationship gap years causes friction between her and her husband Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson).
Popping over to the flower shop to find a bottle of wine she finds herself serving former football star Tommy Orpington (Matt Milburn) who has seized the opportunity to get a last minute gift for his mother.
Tracy is no stranger to infidelity but will she really embark on a new affair with the returning character?
As regular viewers of the Manchester-based program will remember, Tommy hasn’t been seen in the cobbles since 2021, when he retired from his footballing career.
Fans have suspected he will embark on an affair with Tracy after soap boss Iain MacLeod teased romantic drama ahead for the former football player.
“There’s basically a story that evolves where this attractive, successful historically, man arrives into one of our female character’s lives and upsets the apple cart in fairly spectacular fashion, shall we say”, Iain said during a chat with The Sun.
“You’ll know quite quickly who I’m talking about, probably, when you see the episode, but I’d rather not say too much now, just so that you can enjoy that surprise for yourselves when we get to Christmas.”
What will it mean for Tommy’s friendship with Steve?
3. Surprise family reunion
Elsewhere in the cobbles, Stu Carpenter played by Bill Fellows has been desperate to be a part of his granddaughter Eliza’s life ever since he first met her last year.
Stu took the young girl in after her mother Bridget was thrown behind bars for the murder of Charlie Walters.
However, Eliza (Savannah Kunyo) soon became curious about her father Dom Everett (Darren Morfitt) and she even managed to track him down online.
The pair rekindled their father-daughter relationship but Stu was devastated when Eliza made it clear she wanted to live with Dom.
Unwilling to let go of his granddaughter, Stu figured out Dom would always be lured in with cash and he offered to pay him off as long as he stayed away from Eliza.
Coming up, Dom keeps to his end of the bargain and Eliza is met with complete silence from him.
Clearly hurt, Eliza is in the café and puts in her earpods, refusing to engage with anybody.
Yasmeen and Alya Nazir (respectively portrayed by Shelley King and Sair Khan) are worried for her, knowing how upset she was when Dom failed to turn up for Christmas.
Meanwhile, Stu feels wretched as he knows his own actions led to Eliza being unhappy.
What will he do?
This remains to be seen but, off-screen, one viewer of the Manchester-based drama speculated that Eliza may get a surprise in upcoming weeks.
“I wonder if Dom is either going to leave Eliza and bring her brother back with him or take Eliza with him to Germany? I can see this backfiring massively on Stu”, they wrote.
Could Eliza have a sibling she has no clue about?
Could Dom change his decision and choose to have both her and her secret sibling in his life?
how will things play out for Stu?
Coronation Street airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV.
