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Whilst answering this question, I had a recollection of a soap - probably Coronation Street or maybe Emmerdale - holding an audience vote to decide how a storyline played out (e.g. “who was the killer?” or “who survives?”) but I can’t find anything about it. I am wondering if I am just misremembering one of those scenarios where they film multiple outcomes of a plot to avoid leaks/spoilers (e.g. multiple versions of the reveal of a killer, each with one of the prime suspects as the killer).

Did this ever actually happen?

PS. I really couldn’t find a suitable tag for this question. “Soap-operas” doesn’t exist, obviously not a lot of soap fans here.

Darren
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  • Can't say I remember it - but tbh, plots don't 'leak' from UK soaps, they're 'spilled'. They can't afford the time or energy to record multiple denouements of any scenario. Caveat, I've never worked on Corrie or Emmerdale, but I do periodically work on Enders. – Tetsujin Aug 27 '17 at 19:33
  • @Tetsujin it’s definitely happened. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/news/a824489/hollyoaks-filming-multiple-endings-amy-barnes-death-plot-ste-spoilers/ – Darren Aug 27 '17 at 19:48
  • I did say they get 'spilled'... Their shooting schedule has got to be a 2-month lead time - how would an actor not know if they were still in the show next week? Don't believe all you read. – Tetsujin Aug 27 '17 at 19:50
  • I just did some Google-fu as I recall this as well but can find nothing about it. I seem to remember it being Corrie and that 'a tram crash' was one of the options but that's all. – RyanfaeScotland Jul 03 '18 at 00:14
  • I'm very not British, so this may be way off but there was a project in 2005 for Channel 4 where audience members would text to decide the outcome of a decision a young female MC – m1gp0z Apr 15 '19 at 18:48

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You may be thinking of the "Who Killed Archie?" (wikipedia) live episode of Eastenders. This was a special episode that was broadcast live, rather than pre-recorded as usual. Eight different endings revealing the killer were rehearsed by the cast so it wouldn't be leaked, with the actor playing the real killer only told about it half an hour before the performance.

While the audience didn't get to choose the killer, they did get to bet on who it would be both before and during the broadcast (see the section on Gambling in the above link)

Dragonel
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There was a special crossover episode made for charity , where Doctor Who met Eastenders. There was a cliffhanger at the end of part one, and a phone-in vote to determine the resolution.

See it here. episode break and vote at 9m22s

Pete
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