Corriedale spoilers follow.
Corriedale has seen 4.7 million viewers tune in for the hotly-anticipated collision of soap worlds that claims the life of a beloved character. Coronation Street and Emmerdale have crossed paths in a stunt-based crossover episode, with characters from both soaps being involved in a horrifying multi-vehicle pile-up.
The special averaged 4.2 million viewers across the hour on 5 January, with a peak of 4.7 million — the biggest audience for a drama from any broadcaster in the UK since Call the Midwife in February 2025.
“The impressive live overnight audience figures are the highest live TV ratings for a soap in over a year, and the biggest TV peak audience for a soap since 2022 (outside of Christmas Day episodes),” ITV said in a statement about Corriedale.
Emmerdale and Corrie collided in a high-stakes storyline centred on Debbie Webster’s wedding to Ronnie Bailey.
Organised by wedding planner Belle Dingle, the big day took place in the Dales as Billy Mayhew drove guests over in his minivan.
After Billy discovered the extents of Theo Silverton’s shocking abuse towards boyfriend Todd Grimshaw, the vicar offered to drive Todd home to keep him away from his controlling partner.
However, things went awry when Theo jumped aboard the minivan, with the distraction causing a concerned Billy to lose control of the vehicle.
In a fatal twist, the minivan crashed and flipped on its side. The guests managed to escape the vehicle before it was engulfed by flames, but Billy sadly lost his life in the accident, leaving Todd and Summer Spellman devastated.
Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
