Coronation Street's Peter and Simon Barlow's lives will "hang in the balance" in a terrifying boat blaze.
Chris Gascoyne
The 'Corrie' characters - played by Chris Gascoyne and Alex Bain - could meet their makers next year when Peter rushes to Simon's rescue when he is trapped below deck as an inferno intensifies around him.
A TV source said: "There's a massive fire on a boat on the canal and Simon is inside.
"Peter and Simon's lives hang in the balance. It's going to be a huge stunt. They're planning massive pyrotechnics and special FX."
The big blaze will take place on the Weatherfield Canal, but Peter will manage to rescue his son by chucking him onto the towpath.
The source added to The Sun's Bizarre TV column: "Someone raises the alarm and Peter races to rescue his son who has passed out from smoke inhalation. He will jump on to the burning boat and go below deck to try to get to Simon.
"He will manage to rescue him by throwing his lifeless body over the side and into the arms of neighbours, gathered on the side of the canal."
The stunt is set to play out in the spring, and comes after Peter was shot in the chest with a paintball gun by a gang fronted by Simon's bully Tyler Jefferies (Will Barnett).
Chris recently said: "This has been hanging over them for months and he knows Simon is not safe with Tyler out for revenge. Things turn really nasty this week when Peter gets caught in the crossfire, literally.
"Tyler's mates have a gun and they fire out of a car window, Peter is hit in the chest and Carla is hysterical."
It will not be the first time a big stunt has played out on the canal. Evil serial killer Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) tried to kill Gail (Helen Worth), Sarah (Tina O'Brien), David (Jack P. Shepherd) and Bethany Platt, who is now played by Lucy Fallon, by driving them into the waterway in 2003.
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