Battle of the weddings

The exclusive BBC coverage of Charles and Camilla's wedding will have some serious competition from ITV - in the form of Deirdre and Ray's second wedd

13:20 24 March 2005

The exclusive BBC coverage of Charles and Camilla's wedding will have some serious competition from ITV - in the form of Deirdre and Ray's second wedding.

The special episode of Coronation Street in which the pair tie the knot again is expected to pull in millions more viewers than the vows of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles on the same day.

BBC bosses may find themselves off the hook, however, as long as the royal nuptials don't drag into the evening when Ray and Deirdre's wedding is due to be broadcast.

And given the fact that the Queen is reportedly a major fan of the soap, Charles may find himself under pressure to say 'I do' before the famous credits hit our screens.

"It's Weatherfield's wedding of the year and we expect the ratings to go through the roof," a Corrie insider told the Daily Star.

Last night's episode of Coronation Street pulled in 52.3 per cent of the audience share, attracting a whopping 11.3 million viewers.