ITV announces Emmerdale and Coronation Street specials

ITV has announced Coronation Street and Emmerdale specials to air this summer.

The channel has revealed three special shows that will broadcast alongside regular new episodes later this year.

Coronation Street will look back at its memorable moments and iconic characters whilst Emmerdale will revisit three generations of its most popular families. All three shows have been carefully curated to take viewers on a trip down memory lane.

Here’s what to expect…

Coronation Street Memorable Moments

This eight-episode clip-based series is narrated by Jason Manford. Looking back over 60 years, each episode has been carefully curated from the archives to bring alive each theme via specially selected highlights.

Episodes will include Coronation Street: Weddings, Coronation Street: Villains, Coronation Street: Stories That Gripped The Nation, Coronation Street: Battle Axes, Coronation Street: Scandals, Coronation Street: Partnerships, Coronation Street: Famous Faces and Coronation Street: High Days and Holidays.

Coronation Street Icons

Coronation Street Icons is a four-part series narrated by Sally Lindsay looking back at some of the iconic characters who have walked the cobbles over the years.

The show will celebrate some of the longest serving much loved cast members and chart their character’s journey and find out what the actors themselves think of their time on the street.

The four iconic characters are Ken Barlow (played by William Roache), Sally Metcalfe (played by Sally Dynevor), Liz McDonald (played by Beverley Callard) and Roy Cropper (played by David Neilson).

Emmerdale Family Trees

This four-part series is narrated by Gaynor Faye looking back at different generations of three of the soap’s most loved families – The Tates, The Sugdens and The Dingles.

The show will be a mixture of archive footage and new talking heads by cast members past and present.

Katie Rawcliffe, ITV’s Head of Entertainment Commissioning said: “Not only will new episodes of the soaps continue in the schedules, we now have these new specials to join them and entertain viewers. Both soaps have a rich history and we’ve delved into the archives with these new programmes to celebrate that.”

Tom McLennan, Director of ITV Studios Entertainment North added: “It has been a joy and a privilege to delve into the archives of the nation’s favourite soaps. The characters and storylines are as gripping today as they were then and it is the perfect opportunity to celebrate them.”