The director of the historic 'Corriedale' crossover has revealed a uniquely poignant moment shared with Coronation Street icon William Roache, a moment 25 years in the making.
A Historic Hug for a Historic Crossover
Duncan Foster, directing the unprecedented merger of ITV soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, was taken aback by an emotional gesture from the legendary William Roache. Roache, who has played Ken Barlow since the very first episode in 1960, arrived on set for the special episode.
'I’ve known Bill for over 25 years,' Foster recalled. 'He came onto set, he was a little bit emotional, he gave me the biggest hug, and, as he was hugging me, I was thinking, "you’ve never hugged me before in 25 years, Bill."' The director cited this as a testament to how thrilled the veteran actor was to be part of the one-night-only spectacular, airing on Monday, January 5, 2026.
Fighting for an Iconic Scene
The special hour-long episode, set to feature explosions, car crashes, and dramatic deaths, contains a quieter but profoundly significant scene for Foster. It features Ken Barlow sharing a moment with Emmerdale's longest-serving cast member, Chris Chittell, who plays Eric Pollard.
Foster was so determined to honour the meeting of these two soap icons that he rejected the first edit of the scene. 'The first cut I saw of the scene, it’d been edited quite tightly, and I said, "No, no, no, no, we can’t do that,"' he explained. '"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."'
He insisted the scene be extended to play out largely as the actors performed it, making it his personal favourite in the entire Corriedale episode.
The Stars of Corriedale
The crossover brings together a vast array of characters from both soaps. Key cast members from the Coronation Street side include:
- William Roache as Ken Barlow
- Sally Carman-Duttine as Abi Webster
- Alison King as Carla Connor
- Jack P Shepherd as David Platt
- Simon Gregson as Steve McDonald
From Emmerdale, the lineup features:
- Chris Chittell as Eric Pollard
- Emma Atkins as Charity Dingle
- Jeff Hordley as Cain Dingle
- Natalie J Robb as Moira Dingle
- Ryan Hawley as Robert Sugden
Corriedale will air at 8pm on Monday, January 5, 2026, following that evening's regular episodes of Emmerdale at 7pm and Coronation Street at 7.30pm, promising a night of television history.
