OPINION: Corriedale is finally landing on ITV tonight – but let’s hope it’s the last crossover ever.

ITV soap bosses clearly thought it would be a brilliant idea to blend Emmerdale with Coronation Street for an action-packed hour episode under the name Corriedale, which airs this evening. The crossover was first announced in May, and soap viewers have been waiting for this moment for months. According to soap spoilers, the lives of several characters are at risk in the special from both programmes. Whether anyone will be killed off in the special will be found out in due course. There’s no doubt the episode will be gripping – especially for viewers who are into both soaps. But did ITV really need to cross the Yorkshire Dales with Whetherfield in the first place?

The episode involves car crashes, ITV spoilers have teased (Image: ITV)

Many viewers only tune into one of the soaps regularly, so it may not be clear why characters’ lives are merged to make soap history. In what world did Cain Dingle (played by Jeff Hordley) need to cross paths with Carla Connor (Alison King)?

What’s more, there is only one scheduled episode of Corriedale – so a lot of ground will have to be covered within an hour (excluding ad breaks).

If the episode has a cliffhanger ending, I feel it will just irritate viewers who have been waiting more than half a year for this soap special to air.

The other issue with the announcement happening months ago is that it has given fans ample time to get excited and speculate about what will unfold during the programme.

From those who have attended the special screening of Corriedale, the instalment is said to be incredible. But will it be an instant hit with viewers watching from their sofas, too?

What happens if they call for another Corriedale episode to air? Will soap bosses take note and get their scriptwriters to work to recreate the concept for a second time around?

Personally, I think it would have been better to keep the shows separate and not change the format. Both soaps are at risk of being ruined by this decision.