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Battle of the Soaps: EastEnders vs Coronation Street

Coronation Street takes on EastEnders - who'll come out on top?

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We love both Coronation Street and EastEnders, but what would happen if they went head to head?

Where would you rather live? Which is the nicer neighbourhood with the best facilities? Would you rather drink in The Vic or the Rovers? Eat in the Bistro or Beales’?

Let the battle of Coronation Street vs EastEnders commence…

Best local

The Rovers is where the Corrie locals drink – and fight (Credit: ITV)

The Rovers Return Inn was owned by Jack and Annie Walker when Coronation Street began airing in 1960. It has since changed hands no less than 18 times in the 58 years the show has been airing.

It’s been set on fire twice – once in 1986 due to a faulty electrical box, and again in 2013 when Karl Munro burned it down, plus there was an explosion in 2016 thanks to leaking petrol from David Platt’s car crash.

The Queen Victoria in EastEnders is currently run by Mick and Linda Carter and has had 12 owners since the show started in 1985.

It’s a pretty dangerous place to hang out. There have been two fires there, one started by Grant Mitchell in 1992 and one by his brother Phil Mitchell in 2010.  Two people have been raped – Little Mo in 2003 and Linda Carter in 2014, two murdered – Den Watts in 2005 and Archie Mitchell in 2009, and two have fallen to their deaths from the roof – Bradley Branning in 2010 and his half-sister Abi Branning in 2017.

There’s also been a couple of armed robberies, several tumbles down the stairs, and two shootings. That’s not to mention the number of bar brawls and dramatic revelations that have come out in The Vic.

The winner is: Coronation Street! Who would have thought heading to the Rovers would be safer and quieter than a drink in The Vic? You take your life in your own hands if you head in there!

Read more: How did Coronation Street start?

Best restaurant

Robert runs the Bistro (Credit: ITV)

The Viaduct Bistro has been open under many different names and owners over the years, but is currently run by Robert Preston and his partner Michelle Connor.

The food is good, the wine is better, and it seems to be a pleasant place to have a meal. Just don’t plan your wedding there – Michelle was shot by Pat Phelan at her nuptials in 2018.

Ian owns Beales (Credit: BBC)

Local entrepreneur Ian Beale runs the imaginatively titled ‘Beales’, which was burned down by his stepson Steven Beale in 2017 during Max’s convoluted revenge plan.

It’s now run by Ian and Masood Ahmed together and has been renamed Walford East. It’s a fusion restuarant.

The winner is: Coronation Street! Walford East so far doesn’t seem to be all that successful – we rarely see it in action. At least you’re always guaranteed something going on in the Bistro.

Best local facilities

Roy runs Roy’s Rolls (Credit: ITV)

Weatherfield recently had an upgrade when the show went to six episodes a week and new businesses were introduced.

Roy’s Rolls remains a constant where you can go for a fry-up, a sandwich, a sticky bun or a good old listening ear.

There’s also a Costa, a Co-Op, a newsagents, Dev’s corner shop, a kebab shop, and Kevin’s car garage, and Street Cars to name but a few of the local amenities.

Keanu works at Phil’s garage (Credit: BBC)

EastEnders has a number of local amenities as well. Phil Mitchell owns The Arches, where Keanu Taylor works, on hand to sort all your vehicle needs – and a great place for illicit affairs to be conducted behind those giant iron doors.

Ian Beale owns the cafe and the chippy, there’s a launderette, a car lot, the Minute Mart, plus a market!

The winner is: EastEnders! You can get absolutely everything you need in Walford with that market, plus a (mostly) warm welcome too – and who wouldn’t choose Keanu to fix their car over Kevin Webster?!

Best neighbourhood

Corrie Police station ITV
You might end up here if you’re in trouble in Corrie (Credit: ITV)

Let’s face it, crime rates in Weatherfield and Walford are pretty high. In fact, they’ve risen so much on the cobbles, a new police station was built in the recent set revamp.

As far as criminal activity goes, there’s a fair amount going on in both soaps. There have been 22 murders on Coronation Street – not to mention the number of car accidents on the cobbles.

Over in EastEnders there have been 25 murders, not including a number of manslaughter charges and accidental deaths.

The winner is: Coronation Street! It’s barely safe to walk outside on either soap, but with more murders committed over less years in EastEnders, we think we’d be marginally safer in Weatherfield.

Best family

Barlows corrie ITV
The Barlows aren’t exactly loyal (Credit: ITV)

Headed up by Ken Barlow, the Barlow clan have been central to Coronation Street from the very beginning. Ken has been with the cast of Coronation Street for 59 years. Ken’s never left the show and when Kate Oates joined as producer in early 2016 one of her first acts was to put the Barlows back at the heart of the action.

She brought back Peter Barlow, Adam Barlow and Ken’s other son Daniel Osbourne, and played out the who pushed Ken down the stairs storyline.

They might be central to the show, but there’s very little family loyalty here – they’d turn on you as soon as you looked at them the wrong way, and to be honest, they don’t really even like each other.

With the Mitchells it’s all about faaaamily (Credit: BBC)

Arguably the biggest family on the Square – although somewhat depleted right now – is the Mitchells.

Starting with brothers Phil and Grant, mother Peggy and sister Sam, the ranks have been expanded over the years with Sharon marrying into the clan (twice), cousins Billy, Ronnie and Roxy arriving, and various offspring coming and going.

The Mitchells are fiercely protective of their own and late matriarch Peggy was often heard extolling the virtues of faaaaamily. Okay, so Grant and Phil have nearly killed each other on more than one occasion, but they’ll always have each other’s back in the end.

The winner is: EastEnders! We’re too afraid of the Mitchell clan not to vote for them! Get on the right side of them and they’ll always have your back.

Read more: Battle of the soaps: Coronation Street vs Emmerdale

And the winner is…

Coronation Street! It’s the better neighbourhood, with a safer pub and a good eatery. We might want to be a part of the Mitchells rather than the Barlows, and the local amenities might be better in Walford, but we value our lives a little too much to want to live there!


Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)

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