Viewers of last night's hour-long Corriedale crossover special have hailed it as the 'single best episode of soap' ever aired on ITV, though many complained about the poor visibility due to the dark lighting. The episode featured a catastrophic car pile-up that left two characters dead and several injured, bringing together the casts of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
The crash occurred when Coronation Street's Becky, who was driving ex Lisa Swain away from the Cobbles against her will, collided with Aaron Dingle, who had a gun to the head of former lover John Sugden. Subsequent vehicles, including a drunk Carl and a bus driven by Billy Mayhew, crashed into the pair. Billy died after becoming trapped in his seat as the bus burst into flames, while John Sugden was found dead in the woods with his sister Victoria standing over his body.
Fans took to social media to praise the episode, with one writing on X: 'I think that was the single best episode of a soap I’ve ever seen in my life and I’m not even being dramatic.' Another added: 'You know what screw it cancel both shows and make #Corriedale permanent. That’s just single handedly saved their year.'
However, many viewers complained about the darkness of the scenes, making it difficult to identify characters. One tweeted: 'Me trying to figure out who everyone is in the dark #corriedale,' while another said: 'The nation trying to see who is dying in the darkness #Corriedale.' A third viewer wrote: 'There's too much happening and it's far too dark I can't see what the feck is garn on... #Corriedale.'
The episode also featured other dramatic moments, including David having a seizure, Shona going into labour, Cain being shot and diagnosed with cancer, and Charity and Carla flirting. The crossover continues tonight on ITV1 and ITVX at 8pm and 8:30pm.
