The King's River Showhome Explosion was a disaster that occurred in July 2006 when the King's River Showhome exploded and collapsed on the day of it's unveiling.
The explosion resulted in three deaths and several others getting injured, and it was this event that led to four subsequent major events: the feud between the Hope family and the King family; the missing body of Terence Turner, who was murdered three months prior, being discovered; the kidnapping of Tom King, which led to the departures of both his former daughter-in-law Sadie King and her partner-in-crime Cain Dingle - the culprits behind the Kings River Explosion; and the Who Killed Tom King storyline when the character got killed on Christmas Day 2006.
Plot[]
The Explosion & Collapse[]
On 13th July 2006, a crowd gathered as the opening of King's River Showhome is unveiled by Tom King - the organizer behind the Showhome event. He also takes the opportunity to announce the engagement of his son and daughter-in-law Matthew and Sadie King, the news which shocks Sadie's ex-husband and Matthew's older brother: Jimmy. The house is soon opened and everyone begins looking around. Jimmy confronts Sadie in the bathroom and they argue over her recent affair with partner-in-crime Cain Dingle, which Matthew is unaware about. Noreen Bell waits outside and she takes the time to keep herself busy by looking in one of the cupboards. When she does this, however, an explosion erupts and Noreen is sent flying over a balcony and down the stairs. Another explosion occurs instantly in the bathroom just as Sadie unwillingly kisses Jimmy. On both occasions, David Brown is set on fire. As Marlon Dingle and Donna Windsor-Dingle head towards their new home, they are floored by a third explosion. The ongoing explosions cause the upstairs rooms to get ripped through, as the guests outside watch in shock and horror. Danny Daggert, Dawn Woods and Diane Sugden are trapped as the roof caves in. Jimmy and Sadie are drenched as the roof collapses with the weight of the water from the water tank. As Dawn and Danny climb to the window, a second chain of explosions begin. The floor caves in in the bathroom and Jimmy falls through, shortly followed by Sadie. The house crashes to the ground. As the smoke clears, the remains of the house are seen.
Aftermath[]
People rush to the house and begin removing rubble. Tom calls the emergency services. Jimmy stops Sadie from crawling away. Sadie accidentally causes rubble to fall on Jimmy and trap him, leaving him begging for her help. Danny is the first to be rescued. The emergency services arrive. Jimmy pleads with Sadie to help him but instead she knocks him unconscious by hitting him with a brick, and thinks she's killed him. Matthew finds her and she lies she hasn't seen Jimmy. Dawn is rescued and taken to hospital. Diane is found and conscious but is trapped under the rubble. Val holds her hand and talks to her. The ambulancewoman finds a David but she loses his pulse. Diane has the rubble removed from on top of her. David is pulled from the rubble but dies during the attempts to resuscitate him. Carl calls Jimmy's phone and everyone darts towards the sound. Bob is horrified when an unconscious Dawn is wheeled through the ward. Noreen is pulled from the wreckage and is pronounced dead. Dawn is also pronounced dead in hospital.
Known Fatalities[]
- Noreen Bell - Noreen was occupying herself as she was waiting for the bathroom by opening a cupboard door, unaware the electrics had been shoddily replaced. This caused a chain of explosions, and Noreen was killed after being catapulted over a balcony and down the stairs. The house further exploded and collapsed on top of Noreen, and the paramedics failed to revive her.
- David Brown - David was the estate agent who showed some of the people around the showhome. As Noreen Bell opened a cupboard door which set off a chain of explosions, David was set on fire and died of severe burns.
- Dawn Woods - Dawn was crushed by the ceiling whilst standing in the living room of the house. She was knocked unconscious and left trapped during the second set of blasts, and she was transported to hospital. However, the next day, Dawn died suddenly of undiscovered internal bleeding, and her death resulted in a feud between the Hope family and the King family.
Gallery[]
Background information[]
- This episode gained a total of 6.7 million viewers.
- This episode won "Most Spectacular Scene" at the 2007 British Soap Awards.