FESTIVITIES will be taking over the cobbles this week as residents get into the Christmas spirit.
But, as always, life in Coronation Street is filled with bad surprises and nasty twists, even at the end of the year.
Tyrone Dobbs is planning the wedding of a lifetime
Fiz has no idea he’s planning a surprise Christmas wedding
Things go south when Fiz is nowhere to be found
Will she make it to the ceremony?
1. Fiz disappears
Weatherfield mechanic Tyrone Dobbs (played by Alan Halsall) is planning a surprise Christmas wedding after asking for Fiz Stape’s (Jennie McAlpine) hand in marriage.
But his plan backfires this week.
It all begins when the Underworld employee grows increasingly frustrated when she opens a Christmas present to find a box of chocolates and a keyring.
Disappointed, she begins to believe the spark between her and Tyrone is dimming… unaware that she’s about to experience one of the most magical days of her life.
Tyrone shares a secret grin with the girls, Hope and Ruby.
Later on, the three of them descend the stairs in their wedding outfits, intent on surprising Fiz.
But when they get downstairs, they only discover a note on the table – Fiz left to buy a turkey.
Tyrone panics as he watches his plan slowly fall through and calls Fiz’s phone.
Unfortunately, he finds out she’s left it at home.
Gemma Winter and Chesney Brown try to help by instructing him to head to the hotel while Bernie Winter and Dev Alahan wait for Fiz, to no avail.
Heartbroken, Tyrone tells the guests it looks like the wedding is off and everyone heads to the Rovers to, at the very least, tuck into the buffet.
Meanwhile, Fiz’s car breaks down on a country road and she realises she has no phone to reach out to anybody.
She sets off on foot to look for a phone box, in the hopes of letting Tyrone know where she is.
Instead, she finds a passing walker named Chris to whom she explains her predicament – will he help her?
Stephen’s lies are coming to light
2. Stephen gets cornered
Elsewhere in the cobbles, Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) continues to scheme in the hopes of getting the cash he needs.
This leads him to take advantage of Elaine Metcalfe (Paula Wilcox) – but her son Tim (Joe Duttine) sees right through the failing businessman.
Unfortunately for Stephen, some members of his own family are also slowly catching on.
Coming up, the Weatherfield cabbie senses that his mother’s feelings for Stephen are far from reciprocated and calls at No.8 with the gift she gave him.
David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) immediately assumes it’s for him and is underwhelmed to find a hip flask.
When he shows it to his mother Gail (Helen Worth), he brands it a very stingy present from someone supposedly so wealthy.
Gail begins to put two and two together when she spots Elaine buying a whisky bottle for the hip flash and voices her suspicions to Nick Tilsley (Ben Price).
Elaine later hands over the whisky to Stephen and Gail reveals she’s spoken to his estranged wife Gabrielle (Helene Maksoud) – he has some serious explaining to do.
Is it time out for Stephen?
A Coronation Street resident is in mortal danger
3. One resident fights for their life
But Stephen will heavily struggle to cover up his tracks as one resident is close to find out the truth about Leo Thompkins’ death.
Coming up, Jenny Connor (portrayed by Sally Ann Matthews) reveals that Teddy Thompkins (Grant Burgin) called from Canada with shocking revelations.
Stephen masks his inner turmoil, knowing full well it’s only a matter of time until he’s exposed.
In later scenes, Jenny announces that Teddy will be dropping by to discuss what he’s found out about Leo – and Stephen grows increasingly worried.
Things go from bad to worse when Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson) explains he’s been contacted by Six Fellas.
However, Stephen could be in for a surprise as he also learns the delivery company is ready to settle out of court after his accident.
Whether his luck is changing remains to be seen but one thing is certain – Teddy could cause Stephen severe trouble.
Enough for the failing businessman to kill him?
Teddy heads to the Rovers, worse for wear, and Stephen catches him.
He then breaks the news that Leo never got to Canada and that his texts all came from Weatherfield.
But as he crosses the street, ready to tell Jenny everything, Teddy is hit by a van.
Nick clocks the accident with horror as Teddy lies unconscious in the road.
Are Stephen’s problems solved?
Will Teddy recover?
Could the undertaker be responsible for a breakup?
4. Todd makes a mistake
Weatherfield stalwart Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) is the victim of a huge betrayal.
The Underworld machinist has been exploring his romantic potential with newcomer Laurence and, despite some mishaps, the pair seem to get along well.
This week, Laurence even suggests to Sean they have a trip away.
However, Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) soon sees him surreptitiously send a text and his suspicions grow.
In later scenes, Sean announces that he and his son Dylan will be heading off to the Peaks with Laurence – leaving a jealous Todd with his mother Eileen and her partner George Shuttleworth.
Sean, Dylan and Laurence soon return home from their night in the Peaks with stars in their eyes.
But while alone, Laurence tells Todd that he can sense he isn’t liked and assures he’d welcome the chance to change his mind.
Todd thaws over a bottle of wine and, when Laurence goes to leave him, he leans in for a kiss.
Understandably, this causes tensions to rise, prompting Todd to apologise to Sean for coming onto Laurence.
Yet according to him, he wasn’t the only guilty party as Todd insists the flirting was mutual.
Sean loses his temper, undoubtedly disappointed that his relationship is taking a turn, like many others before.
In later scenes, Laurence confides that it’s the anniversary of Lindsey’s death and he still feels guilty for marrying her.
Laurence decides to buy her parents some flowers as a gesture of kindness but Todd soon gets distracted by gossip when he hears Mary Taylor and Rita Tanner discuss Lyndsey’s death.
According to them, it was even big news at the time – what will Todd learn?
While this remains to be shown, Todd is intrigued and later does some research into the death of Laurence’s wife.
This prompts him to come up with his own conclusion.
Is Laurence hiding something from Sean?
Griff’s hold over Max is getting worse
5. Max moves in with Griff
Meanwhile, Griff Reynolds (Michael Condron) has managed to spread fear in Weatherfield, particularly after his gang brutally attacked a young Daryan.
But in doing so, he has also pushed troubled teen Max Turner (Paddy Bever) to join him and his far-right group.
As the lad’s grooming storyline continues this week, Griff’s hold over him is only getting worse.
Coming up, Audrey Roberts sits with her family to Christmas lunch in the bistro.
The gathering includes Max, Gail, David and Shona Platt, Nick Tilsley and Leanne Battersby.
Max opens up his present and is thrilled to find a state of the art editing package.
However, the meal turns sour when David makes a joke about Griff.
Max immediately leaps to Griff’s defence before storming out, leaving David regretting his remarks.
David hasn’t been supportive of Max’s bond with Griff, believing the latter is up to no good.
When he spots him being pally with Griff at the Christmas market, David loses his temper and tries to drag Max away.
Sadly, this strikes a nerve and the father-son relationship crumbles as Max tells David he not only hates him but will also be moving in with Griff.
Later on, David gets a stern warning from Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) – according to her, Griff is a dangerous man and he needs to get Max out of his grasp.
But what can David do?
Coronation Street airs on ITV.
