Fans of Coronation Street and Emmerdale have been left stunned by a special crossover episode that killed off two characters, declaring it the best episode of TV in years.<\/p>\n
The ITV soaps entwined on Monday, with characters from both shows involved in a deadly crash on a motorway between Leeds and Manchester \u2013 and viewers watched on in excitement as several familiar faces shared the screen for the first time.<\/p>\n
But it was a knowing gag involving Coronation Street\u2019s Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and Emmerdale\u2019s Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) that has been hailed as the highlight of the episode.<\/p>\n
The in-joke arrived when Steve suggested he recognised Jai, stating: \u201cI just thought I saw somebody I used to work with, but it can\u2019t be.\u201d This was a nod to the fact that Bisson played Vikram in Corrie from 1999 to 2002. Vikram co-founded Street Cars with Steve.<\/p>\n
\u201cFavourite bit was Steve McDonald recognising Jai in Emmerdale cos he was Vikram in Corrie,\u201d one fan wrote, saying they \u201cscreamed laughing\u201d. Others called the moment, written by Owen Lloyd Fox, \u201cincredible\u201d, \u201cgenius\u201d and \u201cthe best bit\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve recognising Jai as Vikram is by far the best thing in this madness,\u201d a viewer reacted.<\/p>\n
Throwback: Chris Bisson and Simon Gregson co-starred in \u2018Coronation Street\u2019 more than two decades ago (ITV)Elsewhere, fans praised producers for crafting the action-packed episode, and have predicted the crossover will win many awards over the coming year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink that was the single best episode of a soap I\u2019ve ever seen in my life and I\u2019m not even being dramatic,\u201d one fan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolute cinema. Everyone who worked on it, take a f***ing bow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another long-time soap viewer praised the episode as \u201cedge-of-the-seat stuff\u201d, stating: \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve sat that tense for a full hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others demanded more crossover episodes in the future.<\/p>\n
\u2018Corriedale\u2019 branded best TV soap episode in years (ITV)Emmerdale serial killer John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) was killed in the episode, as was Coronation Street\u2019s vicar Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank), whose evil love rival Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) locked him in the blazing minibus he was driving, which collided with a car driven by Sugden and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).<\/p>\n
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Instead of helping Billy, Theo clipped him back into his seatbelt as fuel leaked towards the fire, leaving him to die in the wreckage.<\/p>\n
Fans paid tribute to Billy, who spent 11 years on the cobbles: \u201cGoodbye Billy Mayhew, what an exit \u2013 brought a tear to my eye, that did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmerdale fans were not only rocked by the death of serial killer John, but by the suggestion that he was shot dead by his sister Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) in a last-minute twist.<\/p>\n
\u2018Corriedale\u2019 killed off John Sugden of \u2018Emmerdale\u2019 and Billy Mayhew of \u2018Coronation Street\u2019 (ITV)Speaking about the episode prior to its airing, Hodgins told BBC Radio Manchester it was \u201csurreal\u201d to play a key role in the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we heard they were doing it, we all wanted to be involved \u2013 so I feel extremely privileged that I get to be in it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fans of Coronation Street and Emmerdale have been left stunned by a special crossover episode that killed off two characters, declaring it the best episode of TV in years. The ITV soaps entwined on Monday, with characters from both shows involved in a deadly crash on a motorway between Leeds and Manchester \u2013 and viewers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n