Merry Christmas Everyone!

These beautiful pictures have certainly got me feeling festive!

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish Faye and all our readers a very Merry Christmas!

Faye Brookes, who plays knicker factory worker Kate, says there is trouble ahead for the Weatherfield clan.

The Coronation Street star explains: “Of course there will be drama kicking off on the Street at Christmas – it’s Corrie!

 “There are lots of question marks hanging in the air for Aidan as his affair with Maria comes to a head.

“She’s facing Christmas in prison so Aidan has to decide if he goes with his heart and picks Maria, or his head and stays with Eva.

“Either way, one girl will be left disappointed.

“There’s also Toyah Battersby coming back on Christmas Day – and she holds secrets about her return.”

Elsewhere on the Street, Bethany Platt resorts to diet pills again on Christmas Eve while Nick and Peter brawl as tensions run high on Christmas Day.

Faye reveals: “Both Christmas and the show are about family and those relationships which sometimes aren’t easy.

“And what I can say from the bottom of my heart is that Corrie does have heart and that’s never going to go away.

 “The heart in the show has made it stand the test of time.”

And after a troubled year finding her place on the Street and breaking away from crazy ex Caz Hammond, Faye says 2017 will be a new start for her character.

She reveals: “There’s something going on for all of us though. Kate doesn’t have a very fulfilled Christmas, so we are planning a new year and new Kate for 2017.

 “The New Year is her time to really show who she is. She doesn’t have to just be a fun lesbian – what if she has a real dark side?”

 Faye says she met the new Corrie producer earlier in the year to plot Kate’s story unfolding.

“What was amazing about Kate Oates was that she took us aside to talk about our characters,” she says.

“And I said to her: ‘Look I am Carla Conner’s sister so sock it to me – give me some of those incredible storylines and high drama. I’m ready for it.’

“The Connor family are a massive family tree and there’s loads that they can do with us. 

“I love being in Corrie. I was so overwhelmed when I got the call to say I would be a brand new Connor. I am from Manchester and have watched it for so long. 

“What I love about Kate is that she isn’t what you’d think she’d be like. She’s a bit bohemian and she’s quite cool – the absolute opposite of me. 

 “She’s headstrong and while she’s close to her family she has a fiery side, we all do! She is opinionated and isn’t afraid to say what she thinks.