Wow. What a week it had already been in Emmerdale, as viewers witnessed the build-up to tonight’s teased car smash horror.
But nothing could have prepared fans for just how epic and catastrophic!
The disaster – which featured British soap’s biggest ever stunt sequence – began as psychotic Emma pushed her ex-husband James, who had managed to escape her Misery-esque clutches, over a bridge.
He landed on the windscreen of Ashley’s car on the road below – the poorly and confused vicar was driving for the first time in months after having a ‘funny’ turn and doing a runner from his daughter’s christening.
The smash then rapidly escalated and saw the cars containing Rhona and Paddy, Pierce, and Aaron and Robert – also on that same stretch of road at the same time (yes, really!) shunted and flipped.
As help arrived on the scene – which looked more like the set of an Armageddon disaster movie than the Yorkshire soap – Ashley was alive.
Pierce, who had also survived, went to the rescue of Rhona, who was unresponsive beside a dazed and bleeding Paddy.
Meanwhile, Robron’s car flipped into a lake and Robert desperately tried to rescue his trapped lover. Once he had freed him, he headed back in for Lachlan… still not knowing if Aaron would pull through.
Viewers were quick to express their praise – and distress – watching the horrific events unfold in the first of tonight’s episodes…
During the second outing of the award-winning soap, attentions turned to who would survive – and who had died.
But in true soap style, the show is keeping viewers on tenterhooks… we’ll all have to tune back in tomorrow for progress on the victims’ ultimate fate.