'Coronation Street' are anticipating a potential backlash over its "very controversial" use of a gun this Christmas.
Mikey North
That's according to 'Corrie' boss Iain MacLeod, who has admitted the show's bosses didn't take the decision "lightly" to make an armed siege one of the main plots of the programme's festive schedule, because he is well aware the soap should "embrace guns at its peril".
Speaking to BANG Showbiz and other media, he said: "I'm aware that the presence of firearms full-stop on 'Coronation Street' is very controversial, so it wasn't a decision we took lightly.
"But it just felt that there was an interesting side-avenue to what Gary's been doing that hadn't really been explored yet.
"Doing something involving a firearm felt like a realistic pay-off for the story we've been telling about loan sharking, the pressures of poverty, and the mental collapse that can cause for people.
"It felt motivated but also exciting and we wanted to slightly subvert people's expectations of what they might get from a 'Corrie' Christmas episode.
"There is a view that Coronation Street should embrace guns at its peril."
The armed siege will take place when Derek Milligan (Craige Els) gets hold of an antique firearm and goes in search of Gary Windass (Mikey North), and Iain insists it is "edge-of-your-seat" action.
He added: "So while there's bags of warmth and family nonsense, there's also that really high-octane final reel which is edge-of-your-seat.
"I had to hold my breath for the last minutes of the episode."
But Iain admits the soap are "cautious" about how they portray violence and made sure not to come across as "sensationalising" weapons.
He added: "Famously, Ernie Bishop was killed with a shotgun many years ago, so it's not like it's the first time we've done anything of this scale.
"But equally 'Coronation Street', and Britain generally, has a responsibility to be cautious about how it portrays violence and not to be seen to be sensationalising it. Anytime somebody is brandishing a weapon, you have a think about whether it's something you really want to do.
"But ultimately the story that was pitched was exciting and felt so right in terms of it being an evolution of Gary's journey. It felt motivated and exciting."
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