Coronation Street star Alison King was heard describing one of her new former castmates as her ‘best friend’ as they shared an emotional message about their exit.

Those who follow the ITV soap best know the actress for playing Carla Connor and she was recently featured in dramatic scenes as Corrie and Emmerdale joined forces for a special crossover episode, dubbed Corriedale.

A horror of a multi-vehicle collision, and its devastating aftermath, unfolded with characters from both shows caught up in the incident. It was revealed that crash was caused by Emmerdale killer John Sugden and Corrie villain Becky Swain as the pair collided while driving on a country road near Hotten.

It marked the exit storyline of Weatherfield vicar Billy Mayhew, who died after being trapped in a minibus which went up in flames. Meanwhile, John was later seen dead, having been killed in a shock twist by his sister, Victoria.

Billy’s death marked actor Daniel Brocklebank’s official departure from Corrie, after confirming he was leaving the cobbles behind last year. Following his exit scenes airing, Daniel was heard speaking in a video shared on Corrie’s social media channels on Tuesday (January 6) morning.

In it, he said: “Hello, it’s Daniel Brocklebank here. Gosh, I can’t believe I’m sat here recording my goodbyes. And not just goodbyes, but thank yous. I would like to thank everybody at Coronation Street for the last 11 years. They have been, and will always be, such a special part of my life. I have loved every minute of being Billy.

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Alison featured in Daniel’s behind the scenes video of filming his Corrie exit(Image: Daniel Brocklebank Instagram)

“I’ve loved every minute of walking into this building. And to you guys, at home watching, thank you for the love and support for my little special character over the time that I’ve been here. I will miss you all. Lots of love.”

He has since taken to Instagram with a video documenting the filming of what ended up being his exit scenes. He was seen on location, sharing clips of what he called the ‘bus of doom’ which he was harnessed into to film Billy’s demise. He was also seen alongside Alison, who said: “Hello, my best friend,” as she cuddled into him and kissed him on the cheek.

After wrapping on filming, Dan spoke to the camera and said: “That’s it. Billy’s dead.” He went on to share a clip of him walking down the cobbles alongside the message: “Goodbye Coronation Street family. Thank you for the last 11 years. It’s been a ride I shall hold dear to my heart forever.”