Christmas is meant to be a time of celebration, family and good will - unless you're a character in soapland.

Then the holiday season is actually full of breakups, drama and death. And with weeks to go until the big day, it looks like the Coronation Street cast and crew are already busy filming their Christmas episodes. Based on the latest filming photos, though, it looks like the Weatherfield residents won't be having a very merry Christmas this year. Corrie fans reportedly heard screams and saw an explosion as the soap was filming late-night scenes this week. According to The Manchester Evening News, people in apartments nearby stepped onto their balconies to try and figure out what was actually happening. A funfair set up could be seen in photos obtained by the publication, with onlookers saying they saw "a flash and a puff of smoke" before the screams could be heard. The onlooker added:

"There was a crash and a bang coming from the fair, thought to be from a gas canister as part of a storyline. "It was around 11.45pm and people were on their balconies wondering what was going on. "One man was wearing only a pair of underpants. There were lots of flashing lights, a pop and smoke."

Sally Ann Matthews, who plays Jenny on the long-running soap, previously teased a "beyond dramatic" Christmas for the residents of Weatherfield. She promised to the Daily Star that there was "big and edge-of-your-seat stuff", "several big storylines" happening. And Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz, teased that things wouldn't be "all mistletoe and jingle bells" this year.