Coronation Street and Emmerdale viewers were left stunned on Friday night when they watched two of the most dramatic episodes in soap history.

Emmerdale fans were rocked when James Barton was killed off in hospital, while the Corrie faithful were overwhelmed when Anna Windass was set on fire by an enormous explosion on the cobbles of Weatherfield.

Viewers turned to Twitter to express their shock - with many left in floods of tears, unable to deal with the 'traumatic' storylines.

Scroll down for video

Heartbreaking scenes: James Barton died in hospital on Friday night's dramatic episode of Emmerdale, leaving viewers of the ITV soap stunned

Shocking: An explosion rocked the cobbles of Weatherfield on Friday night's episode of Coronation Street

First up in ITV's Friday bonanza was Emmerdale.

James Barton - who was hospitalised after being kidnapped, drugged, and pushed off bridge by his deranged wife Emma - passed away in an action-packed episode.

He was visited by his crazed wife in hospital, who tried to finish the job of killing him as he lay on life support after an operation to reduce the pressure in his brain and to fix his punctured lung and fractured spine.

'I just wanted you to love me, I loved you with everything I had,' she said as she sat next to his bed.

'I gave you three beautiful children. Why couldn't you just love me? And marry me and grow old with me and the boys?'

She then appeared to change her mind, saying: 'Please don't go. Please don't die. Please forgive me.'

Survivor: Luckily Aaron was alive, although still in a bad way in hospital

Heart-wrenching: James was seen in a bad way before he passed away on Friday's episode

Emotional: Viewers took to social media to express their shock and sadness at the upsetting turn of events

James then started shaking and, despite the best efforts and nurses to keep him alive, died.

Aaron Dingle and Rhona Goskirk were also clinging to life in hospital after a huge pile up that left multiple characters in a serious condition - but both survived Friday's episode.

Viewers turned to Twitter to express their sorrow at the shocking scenes, which left some of them 'broken'.

Others praised the acting and the drama, saying they had voted for the show to win at the National Television Awards early next year.

Suspense: ITV teased fans with pictured of a funeral before the episode began

Also on the show, Aaron finally told Robert that he would accept his marriage proposal.

'Yeah. No, I mean yeah,' he said after he woke up in hospital.

The pair shared a special moment together before Aaron became unconscious and his life support manchine began beeping, summoning the nurses.

Rhona was also in a terrible way in hospital, but lived to fight another day.

Mourners: Emmerdale residents gathered for James' funeral, proving extremely moving for many viewers

Pathetic fallacy: The rain poured, reflecting the characters' dampened spirits

But after Emmerdale there was no respite for tired eyes as Anna Windass was set on fire in Coronation Street after frantically trying to rescue her son Gary who was stuck underneath David Platt's crashed car.

The desperate mother had no idea David had filled it with tubs of petrol because he was plotting to blow up Clayton who murdered his wife Kylie.

When a group of helpers lifted the car off Gary, they placed it back down on the street, causing the petrol to ignite and a rocket of flame to engulf Anna as the car exploded.

Sensational: Anna Windass was set on fire as she frantically tried to rescue her son Gary who was stuck underneath David Platt's crashed car

Shocking: Viewers were left stunned by the outrageous scenes, with some 'properly screaming at the TV'

Heave: The characters got together to lift the car away from Gary and set him free

Shock horror: The flames were scattered around the cobbles after the explosion

Intense: Anna Windass screamed as the flames engulfed her

Viewers were left stunned by the outrageous scenes, with some admitting they were 'properly screaming at the TV'.

One wrote on Twitter: 'Anna catching on fire just scared the you know what out of me #CoronationStreet.'

While another said: 'Flipping heck! Anna's legs catching on fire was like a scene from a horror film #Corrie.'

One fan despaired that the scene 'scared the you know what out of me'.

The extent of Anna's injuries remains to be seen.

Many fans watched both soaps and couldn't believe their eyes. One viewer named Kez wrote on Twitter: 'I know it's not real life but these soaps tnight have proper had me in tears.'

Hard viewing: Viewers turned to Twitter to express their shock - with many left in floods of tears, unable to deal with the 'traumatic' storylines

Bill Ward, 49, who plays Emmerdale's James Barton, explained how much fun he's had filming the dramatic scenes on Friday's This Morning.

He told hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford: 'They are driving 40/50 miles-per-hour when they crashed those cars. It's the real thing.

'You get one shot at it and it absolutely has to work. It's been great fun. I love it. The most important thing for us is the drama of it, that it works as a programme. I'm delighted it's going down well.'

Bloodied: It all begins when James, (Bill Ward) finally escapes from the clutches of his crazy wife Emma (Gillian Kearney), but she catches him and throws him off a bridge

'They're going to need a new cast': Twitter goes wild as 'multiple characters' appear to 'die' in Emmerdale following horrific crash on Thursday night's episode

Crazy: Earlier in the week, James's wife kidnapped him and tied him up

The star, who previously appeared as the villain Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street, said he hasn't appeared in anything on this scale in his 17-year acting career.

Viewers were left in shock on Thursday night when the hotly-anticipated car crash scene finally aired.

And some were left wondering if half the cast had met a grisly end as several casualties emerged during the two-part special of the show.

Relishing his role: Bill Ward, 49, who plays James Barton, explained how much fun he's had filming this week's dramatic Emmerdale scenes on Friday's This Morning

A clip from the Northern soap shows who is to blame for the much-hyped horror smash and it's not Ashley's fault, as was previously predicted.

It all begins when James Barton (Bill Ward) finally escapes from the clutches of his crazed wife Emma (Gillian Kearney) - who has been holding him captive.

But as she catches up with him on a bridge spanning a motorway, the couple have a fight which sees James plummet into traffic whizzing by below.

As he screams out and flails in mid-air, his body slams into Ashley's (John Middleton) car, causing the one-time vicar's car to flip and cartwheel over.

Pierce (Jonathan Wrather) watches it all unfold in his rear-view mirror, but narrowly escapes a crash himself, as he's forced to swerve and do an emergency brake.

The action then switched to Robert (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron (Danny B Miller), who have kidnapped Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson), which saw them narrowly missed the pile up, but crash into a water-filled quarry.

Coming too, Robert somehow remained calm as he tried to wake Aaron up, but as the water levels in the car rose it became apparent that Aaron was trapped.

The pair desperately struggled to break free, with Aaron begging Robert to save himself and leave him to drown.

Liar! As Emma caught up with James, the couple had a fight and the crazed villager lashed out, causing James to plummet into traffic whizzing by below

Barton away: As James fell from the flyover bridge he was seen falling to an uncertain fate as the road raced up to meet him

Are they the victims? Back on the road, Pierce made his way out of his car to Rhona and Paddy's, where he desperately tried to break into the car to rescue her

Noooo! Meanwhile, Ashley cheated death again as he wandered around confused in the wreckage, when a motorcycle narrowly missing his head

But at the last second as Aaron began to drown, the steering column gave way and the pair managed to escape to land.

As the pair were helped to the side by Adam (Adam Thomas), Robert suddenly turned back and dove under the water to rescue Lachlan, who was still trapped in the boot.

Back on the road, Pierce made his way out of his car to Rhona (Zoe Henry) and Paddy's (Dominic Brunt), where he desperately tried to break into the car to rescue her - which he succeeded in doing.

But in a evil and opportune moment he lied about Paddy to the paramedics, before changing his mind at the last minute - possibly saving the vet's life.

Don't let me drown: The action then switched to Robert (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron (Danny B Miller) which saw them narrowly miss the pile up, but crash into a water-filled quarry

On his last legs? Aaron was rushed off to hospital after her failed to regain consciousness



