Corriedale director Duncan Foster has confirmed a special scene between two soap legends in the upcoming crossover. The self-contained episode, which airs in January, will see characters from Weatherfield and Emmerdale thrown together amid a fiery collision – with lasting consequences for everyone.
Earlier this year, fans were given the opportunity to suggest their dream on-screen duo for the crossover. The trailer has since confirmed a range of Corrie and Emmerdale characters who will be at the centre of the drama, including Carla Connor, James Bailey, Cain Dingle and Sarah Sugden.
Meanwhile, Corriedale will also feature a special moment between the two longest-serving stars from each soap. Ken Barlow (William Roache) and Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) will briefly cross paths for an “iconic” scene during the hour-long episode.
When asked how many takes were filmed with the seasoned actors, Foster explained that it took a while to get the perfect shot.
“I’d love to say it was take one! It was probably because we did different shot sizes on it, it was probably in total five, six takes,” he told Digital Spy and other media.
ITV
ITV
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The director also shared that he fought to keep the scene in its entirety during the editing process. He confirmed that the final edit that made the episode is “pretty much as they played it”.
“The first cut I saw of the scene, it’d been edited quite tightly and I said, ‘no, no, we can’t do that. This is Eric Pollard and Ken Barlow in a scene. This is such an iconic moment we have to give it every single second of television that we can give it’, and that’s what we did.”
As well as Ken and Eric, Corriedale will feature an eclectic mix of characters from each soap community, as they rally together after the disastrous multi-vehicle pile-up.
ITV
ITV
Related: Coronation Street star reveals how Emmerdale outmatches the soap
Weatherfield coppers Kit Green and Lisa Swain will be at the forefront of the action, alongside Asha Alahan, Jacob Gallagher and Liam Cavanagh, whose medical expertise will hopefully come in handy.
Things don’t look good for Shona Platt and Charity Dingle as the two pregnant ladies find themselves at Hotten General Hospital. Meanwhile, Abi and Kevin Webster are searching through the wreckage for Debbie, and Robert Sugden and Joe Tate are looking for Aaron Dingle.
Will your favourite characters make it out alive?
Corriedale airs on Monday 5 January at 8pm on ITV1 and will stream on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street and Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepages.
For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast from Inside Soap magazine. This week’s episode looks back at the most iconic Christmas storylines in soap history.