It’s rare I actually say this (please, don’t throw things) but a soap is to handle a very important issue this Christmas.

If you’re a complete soap-buff and try to avoid the many, many spoiler filled things across the internet and in print media, please note:

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Coronation Street will be running a storyline over the Christmas period that sees character Fiz Brown slip into a coma as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The incident occurs after a boiler is fitted by an unregistered gas-fitted causing a huge leak of the deadly gas to be unleashed upon Fiz’s home.

While it sounds like yet another soap storyline filled with festive cheer, the issues raised in the storyline are part of an effort by the Gas Safe Register and Coronation Street to raise awareness of the dangerous carbon monoxide which kills or injures a significant amount of people every year.

In order to make sure the storyline is as accurate as possible, the people at Corrie have been informed every step of the way by the Gas Safe Register how these kinds of things happen, putting emphasis on the fact that these kind of installations must always be performed by a registered gas-fitter.

The issue will be elaborated on further as the character that fitted the boiler will face prosecution as a result of not being fully accredited to do the work.

The Gas Safe Register recently travelled the length of the country promoting the dangers of gas to the general public as part of Gas Safety Week 2012, and this Coronation Street storyline (likely to hit in excess of 7 million people over the Christmas period) will help the campaign even more.

A show source spoke to the Daily Mirror about the storyline:

“It is one of our biggest and most important storylines in a very long time and we need to make sure that it is portrayed properly as we know that scenes like this, if done properly, can save lives.

"That's why we decided to work with the Gas Safe Register.

"We want to make sure that we get everything accurate and right. It will have fans on the edge of their seats.

"Carbon monoxide is the silent killer and the show hopes to bring the issue to everyone."