BBC Children in Need has shared a hilarious soap crossover from back in 2021. The comedy sketch featured Coronation Street's Simon Gregson and EastEnders' Charlie Brooks as their fan favourite characters Steve McDonald and Janine Butcher.

Soaps are no strangers to shared universes, of course, with the recent Corriedale and Hollyoaks/Brookside crossovers testament to that. However, a hilarious comedy one has now resurfaced.

The video, which was posted on Instagram, saw Steve and Janine having dinner together at the First Dates restaurant, after being matched on the reality dating show.

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True to form, Janine wasted no time enquiring about Steve's financial situation and seemed pleased to discover he had some money to his name.

"So, with your businesses, and you own your own house, that must mean you are quite comfortable? Financially, I mean," she deduced.

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Unfortunately for Janine, the smile was soon wiped off her face when the cabbie mistook her as a sex worker.

"Sorry, I'm very flattered. You're a very desirable woman, but I've never paid for it," he replied. "Unless you count Karen, of course, because, you know, she bled me dry."

Horrified at the accusation, Janine called over maître d Fred Sirieix and explained that she had asked for "millionaire businessman, preferably in his 80s" for her date. Meanwhile, confused Steve shared that he was already married and had "only come in for a pie".

The scene end with another hilarious twist, as Emmerdale's Eric Pollard made his entrance. The notorious gold digger's eyes lit up as she saw her latest mark.

first dates, children in need, janine, fred and eric
BBC

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The forgotten sketch, which was written by Daran Little, was praised by soap fans when it resurfaced earlier this week. They took to the comment section to share their delight, with one declaring it a "match made in heaven".

"Priceless both are so in character and bouncing off each other. Shows how good they are. and then in walks Eric. Mix and match heaven," agreed another, with a third writing: "This never gets old!!! Love it."

"Made me laugh out loud when Eric walked in," a fourth added.

Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX. EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

Read more Coronation Street and EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepages.


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