Think of the opportunities. Picture an epic staring contest between EastEnders’ Phil Mitchell and Hollyoaks’ Warren Fox in the battle of the constipated glares, with Coronation Street’s Kevin Webster seizing victory at the last second.

 

 

Perhaps Dee Valley’s own Sienna Blake would give a personal seminar to Weatherfield’s Becky Swain about how to be a better bunny-boiler. Or imagine how quickly a night in Wetherspoons would degenerate if Kat Slater, Chas Dingle and Mercedes McQueen were sharing a voddie and red bull goldfish bowl.

Out of all those glorious combinations, the very last pair you might expect to come face to face is legendary Emmerdale bad boy Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and Coronation Street’s troubled young trainee paramedic, Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey). But that is exactly what happens in the upcoming main event on the soap calendar, the epic hourlong crossover episode of Corriedale.

Worlds literally collide when the residents of Coronation Street and the villagers of Emmerdale are involved in a devastating car crash in the dead of night. Beloved fan favourites such as Charity Dingle, Sarah Sugden, Carla Connor and Todd Grimshaw are all on the road for their own reasons; some to rescue their loved ones, others just to keep secret, some are just on their way back from a wedding.

Then disaster strikes. In the latest trailer, Asha is seen treating survivors and reassuring Cain that she is a paramedic. Let’s hope Cain doesn’t turn out to be the most difficult patient Asha’s ever treated.

Coronation Street viewers have seen her battle with mental health this year after a drunken woman who required medical attention racially abused her. This led to the character’s struggle with anxiety and depression, culminating in a suicide attempt.

While recovery is a long process, she has found support in her dad Dev (Jimmi Harkishin) and bestie Nina (Mollie Gallagher). But overwhelmed by the horrors she’s seen, Asha has been left questioning her chosen career path and considering alternative paths.

She only sets foot on that fateful minibus as a guest at Debbie and Ronnie’s wedding. Now Asha finds herself at the centre of an horrific accident, with multiple people requiring her help, including Cain. Perhaps to rediscover her confidence in her own abilities, she needs a trial by fire (literally!).

What about our Cain? What’s a nice boy like him doing in a disaster like this? He’s not the only Dingle set to be on scene, with Charity, Moira, Aaron and Chas all set to get caught up in the carnage.

Emmerdale have teased that Charity’s big juicy baby secret is about to be exposed this New Year, when Sarah and Jacob will be devastated to learn that the ‘surrogate baby’ Charity was carrying for them is actually a result of a one-night-stand with Ross Barton (Michael Parr).

This baby bombshell is set to drop at the most unfortunate of occasions – Sarah and Jacob’s small, intimate New Year’s Day wedding. Cain doesn’t have the best relationship with his cousin/ex (don’t ask) at the best of times, but he’s certainly not going to be her biggest fan after this.