Coronation Street's highly anticipated live special killed off drug dealer Callum Logan in the dramatic first 15 minutes of the largely error-free episode.
The villain, played by Sean Ward, was the bookies' favourite to be bumped off and within minutes, his former girlfriend Kylie Platt (Paula Lane) left him lying in a pool of blood after a blow to the head with a wrench.
Kylie had rushed to the rescue when Callum attacked ex-girlfriend Sarah-Louise Platt (Tina O'Brien). The Platt family were at the heart of the action as David (Jack P Shepherd) convinced wife Kylie of the need to bury the dead man under the garage manhole.
Ward said he was "gutted" to be leaving the show, adding: "It's been phenomenal playing Callum."
Shepherd later tweeted: "Wow! When we doing that again? What an amazing team we have here at @itvcorrie Well done everyone!"
O'Brien added: "Wow well that was an experience!! Incredibly lucky to work with such an amazing team."
During the episode, aired to mark ITV's 60th birthday, a big secret was also revealed by a tipsy Anna Windass (Debbie Rush); she told everyone in the Rovers about the illicit kiss shared between Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) and her ex- husband Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell).
Sally's finance Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) was devastated at the betrayal.
Elsewhere, Lloyd Mullaney (Craig Charles) drove away from the Street with his partner Andrea Beckett (Hayley Tamaddon) to start a new life. Charles later tweeted: "I am now officially an ex Corrie star. Loved the red Cadillac. After 10 years on the show you'd think they'd let me keep it. Haha."
Tamaddon said she was "in bits" after the dramatic live show.
There were no noticeable mistakes other than a slight sound problem when Craig Tinker (played by Colson Smith) had a chat with Tim and a minor camera wobble in the opening five minutes.
During a live episode of rival soap EastEnders in February, actress Jo Joyner, who played Tanya Branning, accidentally called Albert Square's Ian Beale Adam, the name of actor Adam Woodyatt, but there were no similar mistakes in Coronation Street.
Woodyatt tweeted: "Well done to all the cast and crew of Corrie Live. Was hoping someone was going to ask how I was..."
Jane Danson, who plays Corrie's Leanne Tilsley, tweeted her congratulations to her fellow cast members, telling Shepherd, Lane and O'Brien: "Smashed it guys!"
Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played the Street's Hayley Cropper posted: "Well done Weatherfield family! Completely brilliant Corrie Live. Special mention to fab writer Debbie Oates and director John Anderson. Ace."