The Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover, Corriedale, will air on Monday, January 5 at 8pm.

ITV bosses have confirmed the release date along with news of a new “power hour” slot for the soaps as they move to 8pm each night.

Vicky Myers and Danny Miller were the first stars to be confirmed for the one-off episode.

The duo portray DS Lisa Swain and Aaron Dingle in Corrie and the Dales, respectively.

Vicky, 49, said in a statement: “To be involved in this unique, bold, innovative, not to mention history-making episode, in Coronation Street’s 65th year, (well, when we are filming it at least), is fantastic.

“When I read the script and found out how two worlds collide, who is involved and how the characters interact, not to mention the impact the events of the night will have… Wow. It’s going to be unmissable.”

She continued: “I couldn’t wait to get started actually. This has been in the pipeline for quite some time and the talented team behind the scenes at Coronation Street and Emmerdale, has worked tirelessly to make this happen. They’re incredible.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting, and working with, people I haven’t met or worked with before, both in front of and behind the camera. It’s incredibly exciting and the camaraderie is great. It’s going to be epic.”

Danny explained that appearing in the episode is poignant for him as he grew up in Manchester, the city in which Corrie is set.

The 34-year-old actor said: “I am made up that Aaron is in the Corriedale episode. Originally from Manchester, Coronation Street has always been an iconic show in our house just as much as Emmerdale. So to cross them both over is a great idea.

“The night shoots have been full on with having young kids but a lot of fun and it’s been great working with the Corrie team. I can’t wait to see how the episode plays out with the separate storylines from both Emmerdale and Corrie. It’s going to be epic and every soap fan’s dream.”

Other stars include Corrie’s Jack P Shepherd (David Platt) and Tracy McDonald (Kate Ford) and Emmerdale’s Johnny McPherson (Dr Liam Cavanagh).

Filming for Corriedale started at the end of September and ITV soaps chief Iain MacLeod promised a “mind-blowing” episode.

He said: “It’s beyond exciting that filming is underway on Corriedale.

“There is a massive buzz around both the Leeds and Manchester sites, and the images coming out of the shoot are utterly spectacular.

“And that’s before we’ve even got to all the brilliant transpennine interactions between characters from the different shows!

“As a soap fan myself, I think my head is going to explode when the episode airs next year.

“It will be mind-blowing, historical and unmissable.”

Plot details remain scarce, however, there will be a multi-car pile-up on a country lane near Hotten in the Dales.