Corriedale is being portrayed as a truly fateful night, where Coronation Street is no longer its familiar safe setting but is instead thrust into a multi-vehicle crash on a major road.

The revealed images show Tracy McDonald appearing amidst the chaos: cars piled on top of each other, people trapped in twisted metal, screams and ambulance sirens blaring.

Tracy, one of Corrie’s most edgy and iconic characters, is right at the center of danger, immediately giving fans a bad feeling.

What doubles the fear are recent scenes of Tracy with Ken Barlow: rare family-like conversations, reminiscing about their past, and showing more appreciation for each other than usual.

In the soap world, this is often a familiar sign before a great loss. Corriedale is being promoted as an event with lasting consequences for both films, so the possibility of them “sacrificing” a major character to create a shocking opening for the new year is entirely plausible. Tracy is important enough to shake up Street, has enough connections to spark a host of new storylines if she disappears, and is controversial enough that her death – if it happens – would be a topic of prolonged discussion.

However, Corrie is also known for its diversionary tactics: focusing the spotlight on Tracy to prepare fans, then at the last minute shifting to another victim. This ambiguity makes Corriedale even more terrifying: no one in that pile of cars is truly safe, and Tracy’s screams amidst the pile-up could be the harbinger of an irreversible change in Weatherfield.