Coronation Street star Sydney Martin has said she was ‘shocked’ to find out she’d be involved in the long-running show’s upcoming crossover with Emmerdale.

The actress has spent just over a year playing Betsy Swain in the ITV soap, who fans know is the daughter of DS Lisa Swain after she arrived on-screen last summer, then as Sabrina Adetiba’s mate, before it was revealed who her mum is.

Now, she’s set to be a part of the upcoming historic crossover episode, Corriedale. The hour-long special will air on January 5 at 8pm on ITV and ITVX to mark the launch of the network’s new ‘soap power hour’ scheduling pattern for the two shows, which will air in half-hour instalments every weeknight.

To mark the occasion, producers, scriptwriters and production teams have conceived an ingenious way of linking the two universes, with characters then returning to the soaps they are renowned for inhabiting in Manchester and Yorkshire, but with the horror that unfolds linking them forever.

It was previously revealed that a catastrophic multi-vehicle pile-up would be at the centre of the drama, leaving the lives of those from the cobbles and the Dales at risk.

A new trailer released this week previews the chaotic aftermath of a multi-vehicle collision with characters from both shows calling for help in the darkness as the emergency services arrive at the scene on a country road near the village of Hotten.

New characters recently confirmed as being amongst the residents of Weatherfield and Emmerdale caught up in the drama are Corrie’s Kit Green, James Bailey, Asha Alahan, Carla Connor and Shona Platt whilst Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle, Sarah Sugden, Charity Dingle, Jacob Gallagher, Robert Sugden and Joe Tate are added to the previously announced David Platt, Tracy Barlow, Liam Cavanagh, Aaron Dingle and Lisa Swain.

But a full Corriedale cast list has revealed the rest of the names set to feature, including Sydney as Betsy. She was also seen at the premiere of Corriedale at The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, the UK City of Culture 2025, on Tuesday (December 16), alongside her on-screen family, Vicky Myers (Lisa), Alison King (Carla Connor) and Amy Cudden (Becky Swain).

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News about discovering her involvement just over a year into her time on Corrie, Sydney said: “I was really shocked, I remember going up to the meeting like, ‘Oh, you want me in it? Oh that’s really kind!’

“It’s these two iconic shows with characters that have been here for so many years, so it’s a massive privilege. I had a little bit of imposter syndrome, but I’ve had so much fun and we’ve been so well looked after. So, yeah, it’s been amazing. We just said it was like a big school trip, really. It’s like we’re two schools who get to come together!”

Speaking alongside her on-screen mum, Vicky added: “I really missed it when we finished. It was great to be out there in the fresh air and then you can see the stars because there’s no light pollution and then just doing our thing. It was nice to be together, like we were at a festival and had a right good old time and then obviously we had to do some work!”

While she couldn’t give too much away on her own involvement, Vicky, who was the first person to be announced for the crossover alongside Emmerdale’s Aaron actor Danny Miller, commented: “It’s a chance for a lot of storylines to come to their conclusion and for a lot of new storylines to start branching out and that’s involving different characters and the end of lots of storylines.”

She added: “I knew that I was going involved because we had the call from Kate [Brooks, Corrie’s producer] and we had that discussion, which was absolutely incredible. So to think over the past four years, I would never have said that was even a thing. So, it’s an honour. It’s a real honour and a real privilege.”