Episode 10204/5 (25th December 2020)

## Plot

**Part One:** The residents wake up on Christmas morning. Adam comes round from a nightmare in which he's back in the bistro with his attacker. Imran and Toyah are out of their depth with Mason but relishing the experience. It is also David's 30th birthday. He opens a six-foot cuddly rabbit from Shona, which the kids christen Barney II after his beloved childhood pet. Elaine joins the Metcalfes for the day, bringing with her a sack full of presents for Tim. Tim's touched to learn that she's kept hold of all the presents she bought over the years that she was never able to give him. Shona is disappointed it hasn't snowed as she's forgotten what a white Christmas is like. David and Shona rush Lily to A&E when she gets a jewellery bead stuck up her nose. They're forced to take Barney with them at the girl's insistence. Adam tells Daniel that Peter is the one who attacked him.

**Part Two:** Daniel is sceptical when Adam admits that he didn't see Peter, but smelled whisky on his attacker's breath. Gemma gives parenting tips to Imran and Toyah and lends them a spare dummy when they can't get Mason to stop crying. Elaine and Tim agree not to waste time hating Geoff and enjoy being together. Shona coaxes Lily into letting the doctors remove the bead by telling her jokes. Jenny and Daisy run an outdoor bar serving mulled wines. Gary blames Sarah for his current marriage troubles and makes sure the residents know that she lied to the police about being home the night Adam was attacked. Sarah admits the truth: she slipped out to the factory to send an email to Tom Reed from Carla's account with dodgy figures, intending to make her look incompetent so that Sarah could swoop in and save the day. She admits that she's since gone back and deleted it. The residents believe Sarah. As Yasmeen toils away in the kitchen, she starts getting flashbacks to the stabbing. Gail gives Nick a canoe meant for David as her youngest son isn't grateful enough. Shona sees David and Daisy innocently chatting outside the Rovers and flies off the handle, accusing Daisy of fluttering her eyelashes at David. In her anger, she tells David that she only got back with him because it was what everyone expected her to do, and now she's done with it all. Peter visits Adam.

**Part Three:** Peter tells Adam that he's not the attacker, but he'd gladly shake the hand of whoever it was. Brian and Alex can't make dinner at No.6 as they've got a flat tyre. Toyah catches herself calling Mason Oliver and feels guilty over her own happiness. Yasmeen struggles to act normally around her guests and ends up cowering on the floor when the sight of Ryan carving the turkey causes her to imagine Geoff in his place.

**Part Four:** David and Shona have a heart-to-heart at Victoria Gardens and realise that they've both been under the impression that they make the other unhappy. They agree that neither really wants them to split up. David finally accepts that the old Shona is gone and says he loves her as she is now. Elaine consoles Yasmeen over her panic attack and warns her that it's bound to happen again. David leads Shona into the factory, which he has filled with Christmas lights. With the kids' help, he and Shona re-enact their wedding day. David gives Shona a veil to wear and recites their vows, telling her that he loves her and always will. Imran and Toyah are asked to keep Mason for a few more days as his mum's operation has been delayed. Alone in the darkened flat, Leanne hides away from everyone. David and the kids chase Shona out of the factory with silly string. Shona is thrilled when it starts to snow on the street.

## Cast

### Regular cast

* Adam Barlow - Samuel Robertson
* Lily Platt - Brooke Malonie
* David Platt - Jack P. Shepherd
* Max Turner - Harry McDermott
* Shona Platt - Julia Goulding
* Yasmeen Metcalfe - Shelley King
* Alya Nazir - Sair Khan
* Imran Habeeb - Charlie De Melo
* Toyah Battersby - Georgia Taylor
* Faye Windass - Ellie Leach *(10204 only)*
* Tim Metcalfe - Joe Duttine *(10204 only)*
* Sally Metcalfe - Sally Dynevor *(10204 only)*
* Elaine Jones - Paula Wilcox
* Gail Rodwell - Helen Worth
* Daniel Osbourne - Rob Mallard
* Aggie Bailey - Lorna Laidlaw
* Gemma Winter - Dolly-Rose Campbell *(10204 only)*
* Sarah Barlow - Tina O'Brien *(10204 only)*
* Jenny Connor - Sally Ann Matthews *(10204 only)*
* Ken Barlow - William Roache *(10204 only)*
* Daisy Midgeley - Charlotte Jordan
* Carla Connor - Alison King *(10204 only)*
* Gary Windass - Mikey North *(10204 only)*
* Ryan Connor - Ryan Prescott
* Cathy Matthews - Melanie Hill
* Peter Barlow - Chris Gascoyne
* Geoff Metcalfe - Ian Bartholomew *(10205 only)*
* Simon Barlow - Alex Bain *(10205 only)*
* Leanne Battersby - Jane Danson *(10205 only)*
* Ed Bailey - Trevor Michael Georges *(10205 only)*

## Notes

* This hour-long Christmas Day episode was broadcast at 7.00pm. It was made up of two production codes with both parts were written by Owen Lloyd-Fox.
* Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this episode made with social distancing rules being observed by both cast and production crew, even when they were playing family members or people who shared residences.
* The episode opens with a flashback to the attack on Adam Barlow from Episode 10191. Camera angles, lighting and music effects suggest that this is meant as a dream of Adam's rather than a true flashback. In the scene, Adam sees his attacker, but the audience does not. The Viaduct Bistro appears in this segment only which is accompanied by the incidental music of *Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town* by Tony Bennett.
* Mason, Toyah Battersby and Imran Habeeb's foster child, appears in cutaway shots only and is not credited. He is played by an unknown actor.
* Ian Bartholomew makes a cameo appearance as Geoff Metcalfe in a hallucination of Yasmeen Metcalfe's, two weeks after the character died in Episode 10189.
* First appearance of Lily Platt since 8th May 2020 and last until 19th November 2021.
* First appearance of Max Turner since 19th June 2020 and final appearance of Harry McDermott in the role. When the character next appeared on 16th September 2021, the role was taken over by Paddy Bever.
* *All I Want for Christmas is You* by Mariah Carey is featured as incidental music in the episode's closing scene.
* Mark Strange was the fight arranger on this episode for the scene where David, Max and Lily chase Shona with the silly string in 10205.
* *TV Times* synopsis: David realises how much Shona means to him; Toyah and Imran adjust to becoming parents overnight; and Leanne hides herself away from the world.
* Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast: 6,610,669 viewers (9th place).