For the first time, Coronation Street and Emmerdale united viewers last night, and it was a massive hit with fans.
ITV’s popular soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale united viewers for the first time on Monday night (January 5) in the landmark Corriedale event.
The much-anticipated crossover kicked off with a catastrophic car crash, leaving many beloved characters from both Weatherfield and the Dales fighting for their lives.
The action-packed hour never let up, with viewers treated to a rollercoaster of drama, including grisly murders, a romantic proposal, tense chase scenes, and several shocking deaths.
As expected, the episode was a huge hit with fans, peaking at 4.7 million viewers and averaging 4.2 million viewers across the hour.
These impressive overnight figures mark the highest live TV ratings for a soap in over a year and the biggest peak audience for a soap since 2022, outside of Christmas Day episodes.
Corriedale achieved the highest live TV audience for any drama on any broadcaster or streaming service since Call the Midwife in February 2025, and it also marked ITV’s biggest TV audience since I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
The hour-long special, which saw the two soap worlds collide in a dramatic multi-vehicle crash, has caused a social media storm, reaching over 140 million people across platforms. Fans have described it as “the greatest hour of television I have ever seen” and “absolute cinema.”
One viewer tweeted on X: “Standing ovation from my living room. What an episode. That was the greatest hour of television I’ve ever seen. Everyone involved should be incredibly proud.”
Another fan commented: “I think that was the best single episode of a soap I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’m not exaggerating. My brain needs 3–5 business days to process this. So many questions. Absolute cinema. Everyone who worked on it should take a f***ing bow.”
A third fan remarked: “They’re going to need a bigger stage at the NTAs when #Corriedale sweeps all the awards. #CorrieDale was some of the best TV I’ve watched in years.”
Meanwhile, another added: “I am so proud to be a soaps fan right now. Congratulations to everyone who worked on that episode—it was beautifully done and felt like such a gift. I’m in shock. I grew up with both these shows, and that was the most special piece of TV.”
The success of Corriedale also officially launches ITV’s new ‘Soap Power Hour’ schedule, with both soaps now airing every weekday night for 30 minutes per episode. Viewers can expect the consequences of the crash to continue unfolding across Coronation Street and Emmerdale on ITV and ITVX.
Both soaps start 2026 following a record-breaking year on ITVX, which saw a 30% increase in viewing, surpassing half a billion streams in 2025 for the first time ever.
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