As you may have already seen, DS is celebrating 'A Year in Soap' with a special set of retrospective features looking back on the last 12 months in soapland.
To tie in with the week, I caught up with the leading producers from Emmerdale, EastEnders and Hollyoaks to see what they thought of their soaps over the last year.
Click here to read Anita Turner's perspective take on 2008!
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I was unable to speak to Corrie's Kim Crowther but I've been promised that we'll be hearing from Weatherfield's leading lady in the New Year.
So, to tide us over, I present to you a number of teasers on what we can expect from the first part of 2009 in Weatherfield.§ Tyrone and Molly finally patch things up, but according to the Soap Storyline Bible their wedding doesn't go exactly to plan – trouble is rife pre and post nuptials.
§ Peter goes AWOL in the New Year when he returns to Portsmouth to sober up (between me and you, Chris Gascoyne is really doing panto). His return, however, rocks Leanne's world. And not in a good way.
§ Sophie's boyfriend sparks concern for Sally and Kevin. Both Sophie and school swimming team captain Ben make a decision which surprises her unsuspecting parents.
§ Newcomer Luke Strong winds up on the Cobbles in February and quickly puts his mark on Underworld – when he buys Carla's 60% share from under Tony's feet.
§ Tina, meanwhile, is thrown into the middle of a neighbourly feud between the Platts and Windasses. Her court testimony results in one Street resident being banged up.
§ Gail finds herself in yet another testing relationship.
§ Maria struggles to cope with life post-Liam, but help looks to be just around the corner…
§ Tony thinks he's finally gotten away with murder, but Carla finds herself becoming more and more intrigued by her husband's stories. Just how good a liar is Tony? With Alison King (who plays Carla) departing on maternity leave in the New Year, just how will she make her Weatherfield exit?
§ Lloyd embarks on a new relationship with Liz.
§ And finally, Steve's world comes crashing down around him as Becky and Michelle expose his lies.
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I couldn't write a Corrie-themed blog at this time of year without mentioning their Christmas episodes. Jed's 'demise' is surprisingly hard-hitting. Some would say that the scene where Tony strangles him is actually quite shocking. As Tony attempts to finish off Jed, the script contains a great line involving sherbet lemons which just about sums Tony up. The subsequent tension created throughout the episode from the moment of strangulation is really effective and a number of 'will Tony's act of violence be discovered?' scenes ensue.
Elsewhere, I was quite surprised not to see Audrey or Ted at the Platts' Christmas dinner this year. Isn't Audrey a staple in the annual Platt festivities? Finally, there's a great Christmassy touch at the end of the episode, courtesy of the CGI department.
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