Dennis Waterman and former Corrie actress Georgia Taylor guest star in this special festive edition of the popular rural drama. He plays a retired mountaineer still grieving over his son's death in a climbing accident, who gets a pleasant surprise when his student daughter (Taylor) returns for the holidays. But an even bigger shock is yet to come - not only is she pregnant, but the father-to-be is the very man her dad blames for her brother's demise. Meanwhile, the local women grow fed up with their menfolk when they arrive back from a booze run the worse for drink, prompting them to hang up their aprons and hand over all the Christmas organisation to the fellas. Beth doesn't know what to think when a patient predicts the new year will bring her and Tom the joy they have longed for, and romance is in the air for David and Anna.

Beth and Tom prepare to tie the knot, but reckon without a few last-minute hitches as Joe suddenly decides he can't be the best man and the bride worries over whether to invite her father. Meanwhile, Sally bites off more than she can chew, the green-eyed monster in Anna makes an appearance when Beth's cousin takes a shine to David and a multiple sclerosis sufferer requires assistance.

Unable to put the tragic loss of her baby behind her, a heartbroken Beth calls off the wedding, while the Scorpions decide to pose for a nude calendar to raise funds for the club's floodlights. Meanwhile, new parents Susan and Steve eagerly await Elaine's departure so they can be on their own with their baby - little suspecting the houseguest has a surprise in store.

A line-dancing champion whisks Anna off her feet and takes her out to dinner - but the course of true love doesn't run smooth and she's soon pining to be rescued from the predicament. Beth is delighted to discover she's having a baby, but her joy is short-lived when it emerges the pregnancy is ectopic. Nathan is heartbroken when Candida reveals she plans to tour the world during her gap year and Rita confesses she suspects her husband Martin is having an affair.

Heartbroken that Karen has left Skelthwaite to take care of her heroin-addicted son in London, a dejected David yearns to leave the village, taking Jess with him - but soon discovers his daughter has made a happy life with new boyfriend Joe. Meanwhile, Sally catches truant schoolboy Nathan in a compromising situation with Candida, and Anna fears for the health of elderly farm owner Essie Crayford.

Karen decides to concentrate all her efforts on helping Russell battle his heroin addiction - even at the risk of destroying her marriage - and arrives in London to find her troubled son living in a squalid bedsit. Meanwhile, Anna and Beth look after a pensioner they believe should be transferred to sheltered accommodation - but he's none too pleased with the proposal, and promptly escapes.

David is devastated when Karen follows her runaway son to London. A single father struggles to cope with his son's cystic fibrosis, and Alan enters the men in a talent contest.

Karen's happiness at finding her son begins to fade when she discovers his dark secret. Beth tries to force Tom into proposing by making him jealous. Sally ruffles the feathers of the local hairdresser who she suspects is hiding a serious illness. Sally is upset to discover that her son wants to leave Skelthwaite.

A new family arrives in Skelthwaite, putting Anna's nose out of joint. David is shocked when Karen is contacted by a figure from the past, and a fund-raising idea is put in motion