Murderers! Gunshots! Kids in intensive care! Coronation Street and Emmerdale have, as usual, featured no end of drama this year, but have you noticed the similarities between life in Weatherfield and in the Dales? As can be seen from the list below, there might be something to be said for rebranding our favourite ITV soaps Corriedale and Emmernation Street. What do you think?

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Serial killers on the loose
Anna Windass may have put a stop to Pat Phelan's reign of terror on Coronation Street, but who's going to do something about the rising body count on Emmerdale? It looks as though Lachlan White might have learnt a trick or two from his serial killer counterpart from over the Pennines...

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Accidental shootings
Two soap heroines have been caught in the crossfire recently: Debbie took a bullet during a shotgun showdown at Home Farm and Michelle's wedding day was ruined by a firearm-wielding Pat Phelan. But fear not - both characters seemed to recover very quickly indeed. In fact, you'd now hardly know that they'd ever been shot at all.

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Gas attacks
Do you smell something? Yes, it's the whiff of noxious gases being used for the basis of a cliffhanger. See Kayla messing with the oven on Corrie to mess with Craig's mind for further details. And tune in to Emmerdale next week to see murderous Lachlan planning to kill Robert and Liv by engineering a carbon monoxide leak.

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Revenge under assumed names
You can't trust anyone these days, can you? Corrie's Kayla Clifton is currently trying to get 'justice' for her imprisoned dad Neil by operating under the name of Kayla Westbrook. And Emmerdale's business magnate Joe Tate spent the first part of this year posing as Tom Waterhouse in order to scheme against Charity.

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Sick children
Both soaps are currently tugging on our heartstrings with their poorly kids: Coronation Street has the Websters left reeling following Jack's sepsis and foot amputation, while Emmerdale's Dingle clan are rallying round Sarah, who urgently needs a heart transplant. Any more angst and it'll be like an edition of Children's Hospital.

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Con merchants
Characters in both Coronation Street and Emmerdale have been very easily duped this year, what with Rosemary the fake medium - ably assisted by Lewis Archer - scamming the Platts and conman Terry posing as Gerry's uncle in the wake of his tragic death.

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Teen stalkers
Juvenile delinquents have been busy: Emmerdale's Liv Flaherty was quick to send text messages to a rattled Lachlan White, while Coronation Street's Faye Windass recently spooked Eileen when she launched a campaign of intimidation that made her think she was being tracked by killer husband Phelan.

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Justice for rape victims
David Platt's sexual assault on Corrie by mechanic Josh saw Shona go all-out to see the evildoer punished. Meanwhile, Charity on Emmerdale has recently opened up about the rape she endured at the age of 14 by predatory DI Bails that left her pregnant. She, too, has a supportive partner fighting her corner - in this case, village vet Vanessa.

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Young start-ups
Would you really buy vintage clothes or ginger ale from these guys? In Daniel and Lachlan, you have two damaged men who once had plans to kill family members! Luckily, they're tempered by the kooky, blonde, working class girls with lofty business ambitions with whom they've gone into partnership...

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Cardiac crises
Dicky tickers have provided two notable cliffhangers, both of which came about thanks to the misuse of substances. Emmerdale matriarch Lisa Dingle had an angina attack after her drink was spiked with ketamine and Robert collapsed when he paid the price for his steroid addiction.

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