ITV's landmark television event, the Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover titled 'Corriedale', has delivered a monumental ratings victory, pulling in the biggest soap audience in three years. The explosive hour-long special, which aired on Monday night, achieved a peak viewership of 4.7 million and utterly dominated the terrestrial television landscape.
A Night of Record-Breaking Ratings
The meticulously planned crossover proved to be a masterstroke for ITV. The build-up was immense, with the lead-in episodes of each soap performing strongly: Coronation Street peaked at 3.9 million viewers, while Emmerdale attracted 3.6 million. The main event, however, eclipsed them both.
Across its full duration, Corriedale held an average audience of 4.2 million viewers. More impressively, it commanded a staggering 31.6% share of all viewers watching television at the time. This represents the highest live television ratings for a soap opera in over a year. Furthermore, it brought in the largest live audience for any drama across all broadcasters and streaming services since an episode of Call the Midwife in February 2025.
The success also marks ITV's highest television audience since the latest series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, underlining the event's broad appeal.
Social Media Frenzy and a New Scheduling Era
Corriedale's triumph was not confined to traditional television sets. The convergence of multiple major storylines into one explosive climax created a viral sensation online. The event generated a combined social media reach exceeding 140 million across platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram, as fans dissected every shocking moment.
The crossover has officially ushered in a new chapter for ITV's flagship soaps, branded the 'soap power hour'. A new permanent scheduling pattern began from this event, which will see back-to-back episodes of both Emmerdale and Coronation Street airing from Monday to Friday. The upcoming episodes will deal with the devastating aftermath of the multi-car pile-up featured in Corriedale, which saw characters killed, long-held secrets exposed, and lives altered forever.
Building on a Digital Boom
This televisual success builds upon an already record-breaking year for both soaps on ITV's streaming platform, ITVX. In 2025, the soaps saw a 30% increase in viewing on the service, which led to them achieving more than half a billion streams for the first time ever. The Corriedale event is expected to further boost these digital figures as viewers catch up or re-watch the dramatic episodes.
With the new scheduling format now in place and the dramatic consequences of the crossover set to unfold throughout January, both Coronation Street and Emmerdale have started the new year on an unprecedented high, demonstrating the enduring power and drawing capability of British soap operas when they innovate on a grand scale.
