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The Big Quiz: Coronation Street v Emmerdale is a series of special quiz shows, first airing in 2011 and then annually from 2016, in which two teams of cast members from Coronation Street and Emmerdale, respectively, compete to prove who knows their own show best. Each of the eight editions, typically broadcast during the Christmas and New Year period, has been hosted by Stephen Mulhern. Emmerdale’s regular team captain is Mark Charnock, while Jack P. Shepherd took over from Jennie McAlpine as Coronation Street team captain after the initial programme, on which he had been one of the panellists.

Show 1 (2011)[]

TheBigQuiz

Host Stephen Mulhern with guests from Coronation Street and Emmerdale

The original, one-off programme was broadcast on 16th December 2011 on ITV1 at 9pm. It was directed by Tony Grech and produced by Chris Thornton.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • A Year in Soap - each team answered questions against the clock about what happened in their show during 2011.
  • Hall of Fame - each team took turns to select from pictures of six famous characters, behind which lay a mystery question or challenge. Andy Devine made an appearance in this round, with Charnock and Miller having to identify their former co-star while blindfolded. Samia Ghadie also appeared and had to be placed in the correct position within a photo line-up of Rovers barmaids. Finally, Alex Bain and Ellie Leach featured in pre-recorded footage, with the Coronation Street team having to guess how they answered various questions.
  • Famous Faces - each team had to correctly state whether pictured cast members had appeared in both of the two soaps or just one.
  • What Happened? - each team was shown short clips of characters reacting to something and had to correctly guess what had happened.
  • Who’s on Top? - each team had to choose a category in which they believed their show had surpassed the other. Coronation Street correctly guessed that Tracy Barlow had more catfights than Emmerdale’s Charity Dingle, while Emmerdale correctly predicted that there had been more explosions in their show than in Coronation Street.
  • Cry Me a River - Jack P. Shepherd and Natalie Anderson went head-to-head to be the first to cry on cue and produce tears. Anderson won.
  • Close-up - teams were shown a portion of a photograph of one of their cast members, past or present, and had to identify them against the clock.

The winners were Coronation Street with a score of 33 to Emmerdale's 31.

Show 2 (2016)[]

After a four-year hiatus, the programme returned for a second edition on 1st January 2016 on ITV. It was directed by Tony Grech-Smith and produced by Chris Thornton.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • A Year in Soap - each team had sixty seconds to answer questions about what happened in their show during 2015.
  • Hall of Fame - each team took turns to select from pictures of six famous characters, behind which lay a mystery question or challenge. Paula Tilbrook made an appearance in this round, acting out a scene with Charnock, in character. Sam Aston and Colson Smith also appeared and had to be identified by Cleaver and Vincent while blindfolded.
  • Not-So-Lethal Weapon - in which both teams had to recall unusual weapons used in fights that had occurred in their shows.
  • Famous Faces - each team had to correctly state whether pictured cast members had appeared in both of the two soaps or just one.
  • Face Off - teams were shown photographs of their show's characters, whose faces had been replaced by that of host Stephen Mulhern, and had to identify them against the clock.

The winners were Emmerdale with a score of 33 to Coronation Street's 26.

Show 3 (2017)[]

The third programme was broadcast on 6th January 2017 on ITV. It was directed by Tony Grech-Smith and produced by Chris Thornton.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • Face Off - teams were shown photographs of their show’s characters, whose faces had been replaced by that of host Stephen Mulhern, and had to identify them.
  • Hall of Fame - each team took turns to select from pictures of six famous characters, behind which lay a mystery question or challenge.
  • Did They or Didn’t They? - in which both teams had to recall whether or not a pair of characters from their own show had been intimate with each other.
  • Battle Boards - teams had to choose a category and state which show had more. Coronation Street incorrectly guessed that Emmerdale had featured more births, while Emmerdale correctly predicted that there had been more car crashes in their show than in Coronation Street.
  • Indecent Proposals - in which the teams had to recall what went wrong during a marriage proposal in their show.
  • A Year in Soap - each team had to answer questions about what happened in their show during 2016 against the clock.

The winners were Coronation Street with a score of 20 to Emmerdale’s 19.

Show 4 (2018)[]

The fourth programme was broadcast on 5th January 2018 on ITV. It was directed by Tony Grech-Smith and produced by Barry Hart.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • Face Off - teams were shown photographs of their show’s characters, whose faces had been replaced by that of host Stephen Mulhern, and had to identify them.
  • Hall of Fame - each team took turns to select from pictures of six famous characters, behind which lay a mystery question or challenge.
  • You’re Nicked - in which both teams had to recall whether a pictured character from their show had ever been arrested by the police.
  • It’s a Mystery - in which two members from each team had to identify a former co-star while blindfolded. Charnock and Brunt correctly guessed Charlie Hardwick, while Shepherd and Goulding successfully identified Julie Goodyear.
  • A Year in Soap - each team had to answer questions about what happened in their show during 2017 against the clock.

The winners were Coronation Street with a score of 22 to Emmerdale’s 18.

Show 5 (2018)[]

The fifth edition was broadcast on 21st December 2018 on ITV. For the first time, the teams featured a celebrity superfan alongside three cast members. The programme was directed by Richard Valentine and produced by Barry Hart.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • A Year in Soap - each team had to answer questions about what happened in their show during 2018 against the clock.
  • You Must Be Blanking - teams were asked to identify the missing words from lines of dialogue in their shows.
  • Fake News - teams were asked questions about their fellow cast members’ real lives and careers, taken from press and social media posts.
  • Captains’ Challenge - Charnock and Shepherd were sent out onto the streets to see who could pose for the most selfies with members of the public. Daniel Brocklebank made a surprise appearance in this round, when he bumped into Charnock in MediaCityUK and posed with him. Despite his colleague’s betrayal, Shepherd obtained the most selfies to win the round.
  • Dressed for Success - each team was presented with four models dressed in outfits previously worn by their show’s characters, who they had to identify.
  • Who’s the Hardest? - team members had to hit a punchbag to see who registered the greatest impact on the electronic ‘Hardometer’. Moir won the point for Coronation Street.
  • Secret Soapstar - a former cast member from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale was each filmed walking around their show’s exterior set, but with camera angles obscuring their face. The teams in the studio correctly identified Adele Silva and Brian Capron.
  • Say What?! - team captains Charnock and Shepherd had to look at photographs from their show and get their teams to guess what was pictured, without using any of the words in the written description.

The winners were Emmerdale with a score of 25 to Coronation Street’s 22.

Show 6 (2019)[]

The sixth edition was broadcast on 19th December 2019 on ITV. The programme was directed by Richard Valentine and produced by Barry Hart.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • A Year in Soap - each team had to answer quick-fire questions about what happened in their show during 2019.
  • You Must Be Blanking - teams were asked to identify the missing words from lines of dialogue in their shows.
  • Soap Royalty - longest-serving actors Nicholls and Riley answered questions on their characters’ histories.
  • Fake News - teams were asked questions about their fellow cast members’ real lives and careers, taken from press and social media posts.
  • Who’s the Slapper? - still photos showed characters receiving a slap, with teams having to guess the character who administered it.
  • On the Run - Riley and Mardell went out onto the streets to ask members of the public questions about their shows. Mardell won the round after being the first to receive three correct answers.
  • Clue to Who - teams had to buzz in as early as possible to guess character names as portions of a photograph were gradually revealed alongside a series of clues.
  • Secret Soapstar - a former cast member from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale was each filmed walking around their show’s exterior set, but with camera angles obscuring their face. The teams in the studio correctly identified Kevin Kennedy and Frazer Hines.
  • Say What?! - team captains Charnock and Shepherd had to look at photographs from their show and get their teams to guess what was pictured, without using any of the words in the written description.

The winners were Emmerdale with a score of 29 to Coronation Street’s 25.

Show 7 (2020)[]

The seventh programme was broadcast on 21st December 2020 on ITV. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, each team featured only three cast members instead of the usual four, and there was no studio audience. The programme was directed by Richard Valentine and produced by Simon Paintin and Patrick Talbot.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • A Year in Soap - each team had to answer quick-fire questions about what happened in their show during 2020.
  • You Must Be Blanking - teams were asked to identify the missing words from lines of dialogue in their shows.
  • Soapstar Surprise Reunion - each team was introduced to two former guest actors and had to guess which member of the team had acted alongside them in the past and what the context of the story was. Khan failed to recognise Peter Slater who had played pest controller Jimmy Cripps; Kontzle remembered acting alongside Matthew Canny as a police officer; Gregson recalled kissing Anthony Sean Berry as Shania; and Blick correctly identified Charis Berry who had played her character Lydia Hart’s love rival Pat Pearce. Gregson also recognised Berry as a former schoolmate who had later acted alongside him as WPC Stripper in Episode 5045 (28th May 2001).
  • Fake News - teams were asked questions relating to their fellow cast members’ social media posts in 2020.
  • Catch a Killer - teams were shown montages of their show's most famous villains and had to state which among those featured had committed murder.
  • Secret Soapstar - a former cast member from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale was each shown in a pre-filmed sequence, but with camera angles obscuring their face. The teams in the studio correctly identified Tracy Shaw and Deena Payne.
  • Say What?! - team captains Charnock and Shepherd had to look at photographs from their show and get their teams to guess what was pictured, without using any of the words in the written description.

The winners were Emmerdale with a score of 22 to Coronation Street’s 20.

Show 8 (2021)[]

The eighth episode was broadcast on 20th December 2021 on ITV. The programme was directed by Abigail Dankwa and produced by Louise Ireland and Patrick Talbot.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • A Year in Soap - each team had to answer quick-fire questions about what happened in their show during 2021.
  • Soapstar Surprise Reunion - each team was introduced to two former guest actors and had to guess which member of the team had acted alongside them in the past and what the context of the story was. Danson recognised Jo Cameron Brown as the registrar who had married her character Leanne to Nick Tilsley in 1998; Charnock remembered acting alongside Josh Moran as bookie Ray Stead; Danson failed to identify Tony Nyland as Leanne’s former boss Bobby Ockton; and Charnock could not place Gillian Jephcott, who had played an earlier incarnation of Dexter’s character Faith Dingle.
  • Soap Stars Off Set - teams were asked questions relating to their fellow cast members’ social media posts earlier in the year. They also had to identify which soap double acts were being impersonated by online sensation Isolation Creations, aka Jamie Honeybourne and Alan Gibbons.
  • Hitched or Ditched - teams were shown montages of some of their show's memorable weddings and had to state which of the featured ceremonies actually went ahead and resulted in a marriage, and which did not.
  • Stuck on Set - two cast members from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale were each shown in pre-filmed sequences, trying to stick markers to specific locations on their famous outdoor sets, against the clock. Sue Cleaver and Tony Maudsley had to identify five of Steve McDonald’s Coronation Street residences, while Nicola Wheeler and Nick Miles were tasked with matching types of disaster with the places they had struck within the Emmerdale village.
  • Say What?! - team captains Charnock and Shepherd had to look at photographs from their show and get their teams to guess what was pictured, without using any of the words in the written description.

The winners were Coronation Street with a score of 22 to Emmerdale’s 20.

Show 9 (2022)[]

The ninth contest was broadcast at 9pm on 9th December 2022 on ITV1. The programme was directed by Abigail Dankwa and produced by Louise Ireland and Patrick Talbot.

Coronation Street Team[]

Emmerdale Team[]

Rounds[]

  • A Year in Soap - each team had to answer quick-fire questions about what happened in their show during 2022.
  • Soapstars Off Set - teams were asked questions relating to their fellow cast members’ social media posts earlier in the year.
  • Soapstars in the Shadows - each team had to guess the identities of two former cast members present in the studio, using only their silhouettes. Coronation Street recognised Bill Ward (Charlie Stubbs) and Paula Lane (Kylie Platt), while Emmerdale correctly spotted Verity Rushworth (Donna Windsor) and Sheree Murphy (Tricia Dingle).
  • Ooh! What a Lovely Pair - teams were shown montages of some of their show's memorable comic double acts before answering questions on the same subject.
  • National Treasure Hunt - two cast members from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale were each shown in pre-filmed sequences, following clues hidden on their outdoor sets with the aim of “rescuing” a kidnapped national treasure against the clock. Sue Devaney and Channique Sterling-Brown tracked down William Roache, but Ash Palmisciano and Daisy Campbell located Chris Chittell in the faster time.
  • Say What? - team captains Charnock and Shepherd had to look at photographs from their show and get their teams to guess what was pictured, without using any of the words in the written description.

The winners were Emmerdale with a score of 26 to Coronation Street’s 24.

External links[]

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