Yahoo News Coronation Street's Ed to hit rock bottom in emotional December story
Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street has confirmed emotional scenes for Ed Bailey in the build-up to Christmas.
The ITV show has started exploring Ed's gambling problem in recent weeks, as he has fallen back into his old ways with some risky bets.
Corrie's new storyline will intensify over the next few months, coinciding with the arrival of Ed's father Sarge.
Last month, it was revealed that former Desmond's actor Ram John Holder had been cast as Sarge, who'll be joining for a substantial guest stint.
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Speaking to Digital Spy and other media in a recent press call, Coronation Street's producer Iain MacLeod explained: "Ed's gambling so far is something that's existed in backstory. We've seen him tempted a couple of times, but we thought there was a huge unexplored storyline there for us.
"The addition of the dad was an effort to try and contextualise what's made Ed the way he is. Addictions come from somewhere normally, so we thought: 'What is it about the family's shared history and home environment that might have caused Ed to have this vulnerability in his personality?'
"So here comes the dad to help us fill that out. He is also a massive dose of good fun across the episodes where he arrives. He's an incorrigible cheeky banter-filled pain in the neck really, depending on your perspective!
"Him and Ronnie are like two peas in a pod, whereas the same behaviour rubs Ed up the wrong way. We'll start to understand, via that, what might have driven Ed in this direction."
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Revealing how the plot plays out in the build-up to Christmas, MacLeod continued: "On the surface it's very fun with the addition of the dad, but underneath it all, Ed's problems are spiralling and mounting.
"It culminates in Ed hitting rock bottom shortly before Christmas. In an effort to keep the wolves from the door, he's forced to do something extremely upsetting and commit a really awful betrayal.
"Ed will feel like he's let himself down in the worst conceivable way. I think the viewers will find it very sad. This man has been driven to a point of desperation, but it's very nuanced and very multi layered.
"Inevitably it stays a secret for a time, but then there's an explosive storyline that deals with the family discovering what it is that Ed has done. He's cast out into the wilderness and then there's a loyalty battle between the children as to which of them is going to be sticking by their dad and which one's going to cut him adrift.
"The story has really fantastic performances in the middle of it. It just feels like a really strong ensemble piece running all the way to the New Year."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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