Coronation Street – Corrie Explosions: The Tram Crash

The tram crash is regarded as one of the most spectacular moments in Coronation Street’s history(Image: ITV)

Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary storyline threw up one of the most epic events in the show’s history.

The episodes that aired on this week 11 years ago involved the dramatic tram crash which killed off three major characters.

The long-running soap staged a similarly cinematic stunt in this year’s Super Soap Week as the sinkhole finally opened up in Weatherfield.

However, ITV bosses have confirmed the show will go in a change in direction from the “dark and gothic” approach soaps usually adopt for the flagship festive episodes set to air later this month.

Discussing Christmas on the cobbles, Iain MacLeod said: “It’s quite jolly actually. Obviously, there’s a tradition on some soaps of going really big and dark and gothic at Christmas and we’ve occasionally dipped our toe in that water, but I think it’s fair to say this year is maybe more akin to a traditional Coronation Street Christmas.

“It very funny in places, it’s very silly and it’s really heartwarming and joyous.”

As we prepare for a light-hearted Christmas on the Cobbles, we take a look at the story behind one of Weatherfield’s darkest plots.

What caused the tram crash in Corrie?

The Coronation Street tram crash plot was broadcast across a week of episodes from 6 – 10 December 2010 to mark the show’s 50th anniversary.

The horrifying crash was caused in the first episode of the week when a gas explosion at The Joinery bar during Peter Barlow’s stag do destroyed the viaduct above the restaurant.

The devastating blast led to a tram plummeting into the Cobbles and destroying Weatherfield landmarks such as the Corner Shop and The Kabin.

The spectacular stunt utilised special effects and computer generated imagery which made the episodes the most expensive in ITV history at the time.

Who died in the tram crash?

The remaining episodes in the week included a special hour long live edition on December 9 – and explored attempts to rescue characters harmed in the aftermath of the crash.

The plot used the subtitle “Four Funerals and a Wedding” during an advertising promotion which ominously threatened that four characters would be killed off as a result of the blast.

The first character to meet his demise was the iconic Ashley Peacock who was attending Peter Barlow’s party. The character played by Steven Arnold died in heroic circumstances when he ensured Peter and Nick Tilsley made it out safely before he was hit by a falling beam.

The next character to die was Molly Dobbs who was trapped in the corner shop with her baby Jack. Her son was eventually saved and Molly left the Cobbles in dramatic fashion when she confessed to Sally Webster she had an affair with Kevin – and he was Jack’s real dad.

The third major character to die in the crash was Charlotte Hoyle, but this was not as a result of the actual explosion. She was murdered by Fiz Brown’s husband, John Stape, who wanted to silence her after she tried to blackmail him. John moved her body to make it look as though she was a casualty of the crash and her life support was turned off in hospital.

Rita Sullivan, Peter Barlow and Jack Webster’s deaths were teased during the week, but the fourth casualty was an unnamed taxi driver whose death was mentioned briefly in a conversation.

Aftermath of the crash

The spectacular stunt left a mark on Weatherfield and characters spent the next 12 months reeling from the events.

Although Peter Barlow’s marriage to Leanne Battersby in the hospital should have brought some hope to the week of tragedy, he suffered a cardiac arrest soon after and was left in a wheelchair. His slow recovery from his injuries forced him to spiral in his battle with alcoholism and their marriage was plagued with issues before they eventually separated.

Molly’s confession to Sally Webster also had drastic consequences as she eventually divorced Kevin, which led to the mechanic’s long and bitter feud with Tyrone Dobbs.

While her husband murdered Charlotte Hoyle, Fiz went into labour where she gave birth three months prematurely to Hope. Her daughter continues to play a key role in the long-running soap to this day as she was behind the fire in Alina Pop’s flat, which caused chaos on the Cobbles in August this year.