After the Flood fans were happy to have the crime drama back on ITV this week with a long-awaited second series – but some wondered if there’d been another Emmerdale crossover…
While most were busy getting their heads back into the twisty crime drama, a handful of sharp-eyed fans were distracted by a very unexpected link to ITV soap Emmerdale.
Gritty drama After the Flood originally launched in 2024 and returned on Sunday (January 18), picking up just a year on from where it left off. With series 2 closely tied to earlier events, plenty of viewers sensibly opted for a series 1 recap before diving back in.
And it turns out that paying close attention really paid off – because some fans noticed something that slipped past almost everyone else…
After the Flood’s baffling link to ITV soap Emmerdale
After the Flood series 2 saw Sophie Rundle back as Joanna Marshall. Now newly promoted, viewers saw her thrown straight into another unsettling case. The new mystery opened with the discovery of a body on the Moor.
In the opening episode, Jo discovered that Matthew McNulty’s character Xav Palmer had a crucial connection to the victim. But when Jo attempted to talk to him, he tried to dodge police questioning by making a run for it. Jo, unsurprisingly, gave chase. And it was during this tense moment that viewers clocked something strange.
As Jo slammed on the brakes after spotting Xav, the car behind her nearly ploughed straight into the back of her. Moments later, once she’d parked up, that same red car pulled in behind. And to soap fans, it rang more than a few bells…
Charity Dingle’s car appears on After the Flood
Long-time Emmerdale viewers instantly recognised it the red car that narrowly escaped bumping into Jo’s car. The red vehicle was a 2007 Peugeot 207, registration MT07 VFF – better known as Charity Dingle’s car. Yes, that exact vehicle appears to have made a surprise guest appearance in After the Flood.
One amused viewer took to Twitter, writing: “What is Charity Dingle’s car doing in After the Flood? Did Mack get lost on his way to Manchester?”
Of course, Emmerdale fans will recall that Charity’s car was written off during the dramatic Corriedale crash earlier this year. So we’ll have to assume that After the Flood used the car beforehand – particularly as the drama was filmed in March 2025.
It might raise a few questions, but ITV productions are known to share props from time to time. Studios can sometimes reuse sets, costumes and vehicles to save waste and keep production running smoothly. While it’s rare to spot a soap icon popping up in a primetime drama, cars are, after all, easy enough to move around.
Are ITV’s Emmerdale and After the Flood filmed in the same place?
After the Flood is set in the fictional town of Waterside. But cast and crew actually filmed across Greater Manchester and Derbyshire. Locations included Wythenshawe, Royton, Saddleworth, Rochdale and Heywood, as well as Glossop and Old Glossop.
Emmerdale, meanwhile, is famously set in a Yorkshire village. But it is mostly filmed on a purpose-built set at the Harewood House Estate in West Yorkshire.
The estate, owned by The Earl and Countess of Harewood, sits just outside Leeds and Harrogate and has also doubled as a filming location for other major dramas, including Downton Abbey.
Interior scenes – from villagers’ homes to local businesses and The Woolpack – are mainly shot at ITV’s Leeds studios. When the characters head into the fictional town of Hotten, those scenes are actually filmed in the nearby real-life town of Otley.
Read more: After the Flood recap: How series 1 ended and what it means for series 2