On screen, Lisa and Betsy Swain are facing anything but a peaceful Christmas in Weatherfield – but off screen, Vicky Myers and Sydney Martin are planning something much more fun, chaotic and glitter‑covered.
Vicky’s perfect Christmas Day is all about family, with her daughter, son‑in‑law and wider clan gathered for a relaxed, laughter‑filled celebration. The centre of the table is still reserved for her nan’s legendary trifle, a recipe and trifle bowl that have been handed down through generations.
Growing up in a pub, money was tight, but stockings were non-negotiable – little bundles of treats that have stuck in her memory and shaped the way she looks at Christmas now. She admits she’s never met a decoration she didn’t like and happily leans into full-on festive overload at home, ‘Just throw glitter at it, roll me in sparkles, full overload. You cannot have enough Christmas lights, sparkle, and glitter.’
Her best Christmas memories go back to those pub years, watching her mum transform every window with lights and giant decorations so the whole place glowed as the school bus went past in December. Even now, the first strains of a Christmas song on the radio are enough to switch her into full festive mode. ‘As soon as radio stations start playing Christmas songs I’m all in.’
Like her on‑screen mum, Sydney is all about family at Christmas, but she splits the big day between both parents. Christmas Eve and the morning are spent with her mum before she heads to her dad’s later on, joking that he’s the one you can trust with a proper Christmas roast: ‘Mum would probably cook a burnt pizza for Christmas dinner. She won’t be offended; she’s not the finest chef in the world.’
When she has her own place, Sydney wants to go just as big on decorations as Vicky does, and she is firmly in the camp that thinks Christmas has become too beige. Forget muted tones, she wants tinsel, nutcrackers, colour everywhere and the kind of lights she remembers from growing up in the 2000s.
As for which character Sydney would buy for at Christmas, ‘I would buy Carla Connor a really bright-colored jumper because I see Carla in a lot of black, so I think I’d buy her the most obnoxiously bright-colored Christmas jumper.’
On the film front, she loves ‘The Santa Clause’ movies and watches them every year, especially the first instalment where an ordinary dad suddenly finds himself becoming Santa. When she looks at Betsy’s year, she feels her character has earned a spot on the nice list after everything she has been through.
Catch up on ITVX, and for classic visits to Corrie, these episodes air weekdays on ITV3 as well as on YouTube.