A soap veteran and a spare part are my volunteers to be axed in the New Year special

IT is set to be one of the most momentous occasions in soap history.

For the first time ever, ITV’s landmark shows will be combining for an epic hour of soap drama that is being teased as changing the course of both programmes forever.

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This January, Coronation Street and Emmerdale will join forces for the aptly titled Corriedale to herald the stars of the new ‘soap power hour’.

It’s a clever, bold and HUGE move by ITV with both programmes having faced mass cast axings, job cuts, dwindling ratings and general backlash from fans over the past few years.

It is hoped by executives that the special show will help to revitalise both shows and kickstart a new era for the programmes – as well as being a clever way to conceal the fact they’ve both lost 30 minutes of screen-time a week.

From next year, both shows will air for just 30 minutes per night – the equivalent of five episodes per week unlike the current six.

But with the epic stunt set to take place, which is currently being filmed on long night shoots and being kept tightly under wraps, there promises to be the deaths of fan-favourite characters from both programmes.

Being such a historic moment in TV means that it should come with an utterly unforgettable death that will go down in the soap history books.

With only one chance to get it right, here is who I think ITV should kill off now.

Eric Pollard

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Yes, you read that right.

Emmerdale bosses need to make an impact and as such, they should volunteer their longest-serving character ever as a sacrifice.

Not only would killing Eric off be the biggest unexpected twist that would have people gasping up and down the country, it would lay the foundations for the village to truly be changed forever.

Having been portrayed by Chris Chittell since 1986, he has become part of the foundation in the Dales.

But as an avid viewer, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that he has fallen into a rather bumbling repeated pattern of storyline in recent years.

Fans often see Eric disappear from screens for a number of weeks before popping back up to have a new brief crisis.

It quickly results in him snapping at anyone in sight and becoming public enemy number one with his grumpy old man act.

But just as quickly as the crisis arises, he soon realises the error of his ways and makes peace with his family and friends in true story-telling fashion.

Frankly, we’ve seen it multiple times and we really don’t need to see it again.

If bosses aren’t planning on placing Eric in a new mass murder plot or turn him into the Dales’ next gangster, I fear his potential plots have naturally come to an end.

Be brave Emmerdale and let go of your longest player if you truly want a memorable moment.

April Windsor

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The other character I think Dales bosses should be offering up to meet their maker in the crossover could not be more opposite to Eric.

If they don’t make their big death the village OAP then yes, a wayward teen schoolgirl is the next best way to go.

Played by Amelia Flanagan, April has been one of Emmerdale’s biggest success stories in terms of transition from very young child performer to a teen actress who is able to hold her own when it comes to lengthy and gritty storylines.

However, her transition from wise-beyond-her-years 10-year-old to a reckless and easily-influenced 15-year-old has never sat right.

Over the past 12 months, goody-two-shoes April has become soap’s most troubled teen ever out of nowhere.

She went missing for months, became homeless, began underage drinking, went through a heartbreaking teen stillbirth whilst living on the streets and has now found herself a drug mule in a shocking county lines storyline.

I can’t help but think this unexpected character development could be for one bigger reason.

Having faced many brushes with death over her chaotic year, the soap stunt could be the perfect time to portray a real story of a teen tragedy.

Seeing a teenager killed off would have the shock factor to last years if done correctly.

April meeting a tragic end also allows for the soap to delve into family heartache and tragedy following her potential passing.

MY EMMERDALE VERDICT: Emmerdale needs to go to the extremes and for me, it’s either the show’s oldest character or on the flip-side, one of their youngest.

Sean Tully

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When it comes to who Corrie could offer up for their soap death, the first person that comes to mind (and, let’s be honest, most fans’) would be Sean Tully.

How Sean has scraped through 22 years on the Street boggles the mind.

As both a TV journalist and viewer of the programme, I am yet to encounter anyone, either personally or professionally, who would make a campaign to save Antony Cotton’s character from getting the axe.

Of course, Sean does have many ties to the faces of Weatherfield and would likely see some moving performances from them in the aftermath of his passing.

But with the character having truly lacked a notable storyline for close to 10 years, his spot on the soap is purely taking away space from another character who could help provide a much-needed boost to the already fledgling soap.

And let’s be real, Corrie needs to be saving all the money it can amid the ongoing cash crisis.

Whilst killing Sean off would realistically go rather unnoticed in the long-run of the soap, marking the end of such a universally disliked character will have soap fans rejoicing in their droves and for that alone, Coronation Street will have achieved a milestone.

Dee-Dee Bailey

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This is a tough one to say.

But with actress Channique Sterling-Brown having confirmed she has quit the soap for pastures new, killing her off in the New Year stunt may be the only thing that allows her to be remembered as a legacy character.

It is safe to say, amid a crowd of unnecessary and irritating new characters since the pandemic, Dee-Dee has been a true breathe of fresh air.

She exudes classic Corrie and Channique is a formidable actress.

But with her choosing to walk away after just four years, I worry that she’s about to fall into a bad trap.

We have seen it time and time again with incredible actresses leaving soap after just a few short years at the promise of breaking out into even bigger roles.

But despite their talent, they fade into the abyss and the characters are too forgettable to encourage bosses to ever bring them back.

Case and point Amy James Kelly, who played Maddie Heath on Corrie between 2013 and 2015.

She rocked Weatherfield to its core but with Amy quickly being predicted for bigger and better things on Corrie, she quit before she became too tied down to the role.

But her star power soon faded and she failed to be the big star everyone had hoped and Maddie became forgotten about much quicker than expected.

I’d hate this to happen to Channique but I fear it may be written in the stars.

But if bosses decide to place Dee-Dee at the forefront of their most anticipated episode since 2010’s Tram Crash (which did wonders for the legacy of Molly Dobbs played by the iconic Vicky Binns) then they will cement her in the history books for YEARS to come.