ITV’s creative director of continuing drama, Iain MacLeod, has revealed that new equipment and post-production infrastructure are coming to the studios in Greater Manchester and Leeds.
Mr MacLeod has said that the upgrade will change how both soaps will look and feel.
Corrie and Emmerdale boss says big changes coming for soaps
Here’s an interesting little snippet from today’s episode ✨#Emmerdale pic.twitter.com/1pSL8TkslW
— Emmerdale (@emmerdale) February 20, 2026
Speaking to the This Is MediaCity podcast , MacLeod said: “We’re in the midst of a big piece of work around evolving what they both look like.
“I want there to be a somewhat consistent visual feel between the soaps so you sort of know when you turn on Emmerdale or turn on Corrie that it’s an ITV [show], without homogenising it too much.”
As well as new equipment and infrastructure, the soap boss has said that they could be filmed in a higher resolution than HD, marking another major upgrade for both shows.
He added: “What we don’t want is to be left behind.
“If your mum’s now watching Squid Game on Netflix, you don’t want those viewers to turn on Corrie or turn on Emmerdale and it looks like a completely different century – or genre, even.
“We want to evolve our look so it retains some of the cinematic flavours that we saw in Corriedale recently.”
Will there be another Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover?
Iain MacLeod also spoke to the podcast about the potential for another Corriedale-style crossover episode.
The one-off 60-minute crossover episode between ITV’s two long-running soaps aired earlier this year and was a big hit with fans.
It followed characters from both shows after what was described as a “catastrophic multiple vehicle collision”, and included drama, deaths and returning characters.
Fans quickly took to social media during and after the show, with plenty praising its drama and suspense.
One wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I think that was the single best episode of a soap I’ve ever seen in my life and I’m not even being dramatic.
“My brain is going to take 3-5 business days to process this, so many questions.
“Absolute cinema. Everyone who worked on it take a bow.”
A second begged for a follow-up, adding: “That might be the greatest thing you’ve done in a long time.
“I know Corriedale 2 is likely not going to happen but… WE WANT CORRIEDALE 2!!!!!!”
However, fans wanting another crossover may not be getting it, with the ITV soap boss revealing that it was likely just a one-off.
MacLeod told the podcast: “My fear is a lot of the joy of the first iteration was that you’d never seen it before.
“I just don’t know that if you did it again, firstly, there wouldn’t be the same level of excitement because you’ve seen it before.
“Sometimes one and done is great.”
Would you like to see another Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover? Let us know in the comments.
