Christmas CHEERS!

Soap legends CLAIRE KING and JANE DANSON share their festive plans, on and off screen...

- ALISON SLADE

CORONATION STREET MON, WED & FRI, 8PM, ITV1 SOAP

EMMERDALE MONDAY-FRIDAY, 7.30PM, ITV1 SOAP

With the festive season upon us, the drama is ramping up across soapland. But will Christmas wishes be granted, or will our favourite characters be sobbing into their sprouts?

TV Times joined our lovely cover stars Claire King, 62, who plays Emmerdale’s Kim Tate, and Jane Danson, 46, better known as Coronation Street’s Leanne Battersby, for an exclusive chat to get a taste of what’s to come…

Leanne and Kim recently split with their respective other halves, Nick Tilsley and Will Taylor. How are they feeling as Christmas approaches?
JANE Leanne’s not in a great place, and it could be the start of a bit of a lost period for her. Everything has changed, and it’s about how she reacts to those changes. Leanne being Leanne, it won’t be good!

CLAIRE Kim is such a family person, and misses having Dawn, Billy and the kids around. She has lent them money and Will’s feeling emasculated by that and is gunning for Kim in their divorce.

What do you think Leanne and Kim’s ideal Christmas Day would be?

JANE Leanne was dragged up by Les and Janice, and has tried to do better with Simon, Sam and, of course, Oliver, who was taken from her. Simon has left and she feels like she is losing Sam, so she’d like her family around her. She doesn’t want Nick back – but she doesn’t want anybody else to have him!
CLAIRE If Will was to turn round and say, ‘Sorry, I didn’t need to go gunning for you, let’s live happily ever after,’ Kim would go for it, because she is totally in love with him. And she would love for Billy, Dawn and the kids to move back in.