10 Things You Might Not Know About Granada TV

As we digest the news that Granada is moving from Manchester city centre, I thought I'd share some facts about Granada Television and its current home.

1. Granada Television was founded by the Bernstein brothers, Sydney and Cecil.  They already owned the Granada Cinema Chain when they set up their TV company.
2. When commercial television came to the UK each region was auctioned off.  The Bernsteins bid for the north west region because they thought as the region had a higher than average rainfall people would be more likely to stay inside watching TV.
3. Their first Manchester headquarters was not where the studios are today.  The first Granada building was near the Town Hall.
4. The current site has been enlarged over the years and has obliterated a street called Grape Street.  The original name of the street was Grope Street and it was once Manchester's 'red light district'.
5. The original outdoor Corrie set was built on railway sidings on the opposite side of Grape Street.
6. The original outdoor viaduct was later used as the frontage of Ian Davenport's car dealership when Sally had an affair with him.
7. At one time Granada ran a theatre company in 'The Stables' which put on lunchtime and evening stage shows.
8. They even had their own bowling green - it's been built on now and it's where Dev and Sunita were married.
9. Granada used to own the hotel opposite, the Victoria and Albert, and the nearby Harry Ramsden's fish and chip restaurant.
10. The main Granada building was designed as a hotel then if commercial TV didn't take off that's what it could have been sold on as.

In related news:

Ian Wylie of the Manchester Evening News has an inteview with Coronation Street's Executive Producer Kieran Roberts.  In it, Kieran tells us what will be involved in the move to Media City and what exactly this means for Coronation Street.

Kieran says: "I would certainly want to reassure viewers that it won’t lose anything, and it will gain. We’re not going to do it in such a way that the viewers will notice any changes that they’re uncomfortable with."
Read the interview here.

See also:
Coronation Street's new home on Google maps
Coronation Street move to Media City confirmed