Facts about the Rovers Return

Here's a few interesting facts about the Rovers Return and the new set, according to the ITV website

The current set is the fifth version of Coronation Street.

The new Street set is a bit bigger, closer to real life dimensions. The previous set was about a third smaller than normal streets would be. This new set also has the light standards set back a bit and the kerbs dropped to make it easier for the production staff and cameras to move around.

The tree in front of Audrey's Salon has been replanted. ITV says "The tree outside Audrey's salon is an Alnus Icana, delivered from Holland it weighs six tonnes and stands 40 feet high. It is around 25 years old and is one of the largest trees ever planted in the UK"

About a quarter of the bricks used were reclaimed from Salford de-constructions and most of the cobbles are reclaimed as well.

Both Streetcars and Underworld sets will no longer be housed in the large indoor studios, they will be behind the doors on the outdoor sets. (I hope they have installed heating. That was one of the complaints when Underworld was in the same place in the old set so they finally moved it indoors).

And yes, the Rovers has a second upstairs window and not before time. With living areas and kitchens and bedrooms for all and sundry up there, it wasn't very realistic looking. It still doesn't seem like the building is big enough to house everything and everyone but that's television for you. At least we're back downstairs in the pub living quarters instead of in the upstairs pseudo flat we saw when Steve and Becky were married. 

There's a good book now out by Tim Randall about the Rovers Return. Read our book review of it here. It's a great Christmas gift for any Corrie fan!

Photo from the ITV Corrie website.



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Video: Corrie trivia countdown

In honour of today being the 52nd birthday of Coronation Street, this video from the Winnipeg Free Press TV counts down the top ten Corrie trivia things you should know about the show. It's good and you might enjoy it. You will even see a clip of Ken Barlow jumping up and down (when he was young, that is!)

Bits of trivia include the date the show first aired - which was 52 years ago to this very day - William Roache's long term on the show, Corrie breaking controversial stories like Hayley's and Todd's, and there's a few sections on all time favourite characters like Hilda Ogden and Elsie Tanner. Click here!

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Ten Corrie characters we might have forgotten

With the big anniversary now only a couple of weeks away, there's been a fair amount of attention lavished on the iconic Corrie stars (and rightly so) such as Annie, Ena, Elsie and Ken. However, here's a chance to remember some of those characters who passed through, maybe only briefly, but who have stuck in the memory - and not always for the right reasons!

(This post was originally posted by David on the Coronation Street Blog November, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Shirley Armitage arrived as the replacement for Elsie at the factory, she rose to prominence when she, shock, lived ‘over the brush’ with Curly Watts. Plus she had to contend with a shockingly racist landlord, Alf Roberts. Intellectually she was never Curly’s equal and eventually disappeared.

Debs Brownlow was the sister of Rovers landlady Natalie Barnes. She was played by former ‘Brookside’ actress Gabrielle Glaister who went from posh Patricia Farnham to ‘eeh-bah-gum’ northerner . . . unconvincingly. Apparently she had spent years as a hairdresser on cruise ships (Jane McDonald should have sued). No real storylines to speak of save for a dalliance with Duggie Ferguson.

Super-sized nanny Kelly Thomson moved into number one to look after Ken and Denise’s baby. She was a bit dopy and resorted to having a dull relationship with Ashley. Kelly moved slowly through every scene, possibly dazed by the fact that her employers had once enjoyed carnal relations. What happened to her? Presumably she was either sacked, locked in a cupboard or melted down for candles.

Tricia Hopkins was the offspring of Nora Batty and the Welsh bloke from ‘Please Sir’. She originally arrived in order to hero worship Ray Langton and took a job at the Mark Brittain Warehouse with Gail Potter. Notable storylines included one special Christmas when Deirdre gave her a black eye plus the disastrous way in which she mis-managed the Corner Shop with the assistance of Gail. She was eventually sent packing by the doughty Renee Bradshaw.

A cheerless old boot who towed the trade union line at Baldwin’s Casuals, Ida Clough was Arthur Scargill in a tabard. She was usually found jabbing her finger in someone’s face or scowling. However she was a pivotal part of the Tilsley/Duckworth years at the factory before disappearing, only to return around a decade later to work alongside Janice Battersby. The years may have aged her but her misery remained intact.

A bizarre old harridan by the name of Amy Burton was shoe-horned into the script as a replacement Hilda Ogden in 1987. Amy was Vera Duckworth’s mother and was soon employed as the cleaner at the Rovers. However, it was soon apparent that she was little more than a petty thief and was jettisoned out of the show in 1988, never to be seen again. Hurrah!

No, not the leggy blonde but the short, wrinkled pensioner. Played by veteran actor Sam Kydd, Frankie Baldwin was Mike’s ‘cor blimey ‘ave a banana’ dear old dad, from down the Smoke. Frankie liked a drink, a bet and the ladies so obviously the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. He was a blueprint for any ‘EastEnders’ character over the age of fifty five . . . male or female.

Tanya Pooley was the type of woman who made Cilla Battersby look like a fluffy bit of nonsense. She was hard-faced and then some. Most fans will remember her for rubbishing Raquel in front of everyone in the Rovers before doing a runner with Bet’s Sean Connery-lite trucker boyfriend. Tanya is quite rightly remembered as one of Corrie’s über-bitches.

Feisty Angie Freeman was the fashion student who arrived in 1990 to share number 7 with Jenny Bradley. She also ended up sharing Curly Watts’ bed in a never-to-be-repeated romp.  For a time she worked for Mike Baldwin before leaving for Mexico. Three years later she returned, much to Mike’s displeasure, as a designer for Kbec. She rented Des Barnes’ house for a while and the Street was a less joyous place when she left for good in 1998.

After Kevin Webster had been promoted at Casey’s garage, the owner’s son Mark Casey was installed as the new grease monkey. However it wasn’t long before the roles were reversed and Mark ended up as boss, firing our Kev and his moustache in the process. Poor old Mark wasn’t lucky in love, having a dalliance with Flick Khan before Jenny Bradley turned her attentions on him. Jenny enjoyed having him as her personal cash dispenser-cum-taxi driver for a while. Mark disappeared from the Street when his business folded and our Kev refused to employ him at Baldwin’s Garage. Served him right!

Do you have any forgotten favourites? Or maybe characters who the rest of us have long forgotten?

50 fun Corrie facts that may or may not be true

(This post was originally posted by Merseytart on the Coronation Street Blog November, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, here is some rarely mentioned trivia about our favourite soap.

1. Ena Sharples was originally named “Princess Margaret Windsor” until Buckingham Palace objected.
2. Plans for a spin off revolving around the robots that operated Alma Baldwin from inside her skull were shelved after the pilot due to the escalating costs.
3. Laurence Olivier asked to appear on the show, but was turned down because Bill Roache thought his Oscar-winning version of Hamlet was “rubbish”.
4. There is an exact replica of Coronation Street built on the other side of the viaduct.  It was constructed because Bill Podmore wanted the set to be symmetrical through that vertice.
5. Bet Lynch’s hairpieces were constructed out of leftover asbestos.
6. There is a hatch in the back garden of Gail’s house that leads to a small underground chamber.  This was specially constructed so that Helen Worth would have somewhere to rest between scenes.  Inside is an ashtray, a sofa, and three copies of the Sporting Life.
7. Other suggestions for the name of the pub were “The Rotten Ferret”, “The Smashed Vase”, and “Judi Dench’s Stolen Codpiece”.
8. There have been 138 deaths on the Street, 67 births, and one regression to an egg (Fred Gee in 1984).
9. There are words to the Coronation Street theme, but they have never been broadcast because they are anti-Semitic.
10. Peter Barlow has been played by 28 actors, including Bill Roache’s real life son, his nephew, a midget, two men in a pantomime horse, Dame Edith Evans, and a chiropodist (for three weeks in 1974).
11. The beer in the Rovers isn’t real, but the sherry is.  This is because Eileen Derbyshire refuses to work until she’s had at least half a bottle of Pale Irish Cream.
12. Actress Doreen Keough (Concepta Hewitt) was born with eight toes on her left foot.
13. Hayley Cropper was not the first transsexual on the show; Len Fairclough was.  It was thought rude to mention it.
14. A regeneration sequence for Nicky Tilsley was filmed, but cut for time.
15. Ian McKellen’s appearance on the show was part of an exchange scheme with the Royal National Theatre.  In return, Nikki “Candice” Sanderson played Othello for the Winter Season 2008.
16. If you pasted all the videotape from every episode of Corrie end to end, you could construct a Boeing 727.  It wouldn’t fly, though.
17. Mike Baldwin was conceived as a Russian (Mikhail Baldovski).  He only became Cockney when it turned out Johnny Briggs had lied when he said he could do the accent.
18. The Kabin is spelt with a K because Barbara Cnox has a morbid fear of the letter C.
19. Famous faces who’ve cameoed on the Street include Pete Burns, Cardinal Richelieu, and Fred & Rosemary West (who almost bought the corner shop from Alf Roberts in 1993).
20. To celebrate the transition to colour television in 1970, all the cast had their faces painted.  Annie Walker came as a lion.
21. The Glad Tidings Mission Hall was demolished after it was realised it had been built on an ancient Indian burial ground.  The set was razed and the land exorcised. 
22. Lynne Perrie’s collagen lip surgery was originally going to be explained as the result of a massive wasp sting.
23. Each of the bricks in the stone cladding on number 9 was hand crafted by artisans in Bologna and cost £12,000.
24. Percy Sugden often did scenes without any trousers on, claiming that it was integral to his characterisation.
25. The Umbeck people of Tanzania have adopted the phrase kenbarlow into their language.  It signifies a particularly pained grimace used in times of stress.
26. Pat Phoenix had her red hair insured for £28,000.  She was forced to claim in 1978 when a trainee hairdresser accidentally put Russet Wash on it instead of Autumn Flames.
27. For the ITV Telethon in 1987, Phyllis Pearce and Hilda Ogden wrestled in a vat of jelly in the yard of the Rovers.  Phyllis won with a technical knock out.
28. Other names considered for the show included Florizel Street, Cobbled Street, Stock Northern Types, and Eee Up!
29. Curly Watts was so called after Emily Bishop saw him naked in the shower.
30. Kevin Webster’s moustache is now preserved in Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas.
31. Before they agreed to cameo, Status Quo demanded a rider of a tin of butter beans, drained, and piled in a pyramid in their dressing room.
32. Writers on the show who have gone on to greater fame have included Jack Rosenthal, Russell T Davies, Dame Shirley Porter, Boutros-Boutros Ghali, and Cher.
33. The cat in the title sequence died after its first appearance.  Producers were forced to scour Manchester’s pet shops in search of an identical looking cat for Wednesday’s episode.  The replacement – known as “Boots” – held the position for thirty six years.
34. The show has been adapted for German television, where it is known as Die Strasse auf Funmichpersona (“Street of People”).  An American version was also attempted starring Lynda Gray as Ena Sharples and Don Johnson as Albert Tatlock, but it never made it past the pilot stage.
35. The Rovers Return is larger than it appears.  Besides the bar, it features a parlour, a downstairs kitchen, an upstairs kitchen, a lounge, four bedrooms, a tanning salon, a gift wrapping room, and a hunting lodge.  There is no toilet other than the one in the bar.
36. A writer’s strike in 1972 meant that the actors had to improvise six weeks of plot.  During this period, Billy Walker was revealed to be a werewolf, Albert Tatlock married Elsie Tanner, then left her for Harry Hewitt – who had returned from the dead – and Maggie Clegg murdered Ken Barlow.  After the strike ended, Annie Walker said “that’s quite enough of that” and it was never mentioned again.
37. There have been two crossovers with other tv shows.  In 1987, Jimmy Corkhill from Brookside attempted to sell Gloria Todd some heroin.  And in 1977, the Graffiti Club was blown up by the Liberator from Blakes 7.
38. Due to the actress’ advancing age, in some scenes Minnie Caldwell was replaced by Bungle from Rainbow.
39. Censors were forced to intervene over Alan Bradley’s death.  In the originally filmed version, he was sliced in half by the tram.
40. Kym Marsh Ryder Marsh washes her hair in boot polish to maintain that shiny black sheen.
41. Since the show began, over 45 million pints have been pulled in the Rovers.  Plus one Screaming Orgasm (for Norris Cole in 2007).
42. Ken Barlow has a shrine devoted to TV-am weathergirl Wincey WIllis under the stairs.
43. During the live episode for the 40^th Anniversary, Sue “Audrey” Nicholls accidentally called Prince Charles a “w------r”.  She has therefore been banned from the next live episode.
44. Albert Tatlock had to have all his lines written on boards, which grew progressively larger as the years went on.  For his last episode they wrote it on a tarpaulin suspended from a helicopter.
45. Tyrone Dobbs has to visit a farm to be shaved on a weekly basis.
46. Number 6 was built with the ability to split apart to reveal a hidden rocket silo underneath.  Phil Middlemass left before his character could be revealed as a secret arms dealer, however.
47. Tracy Barlow’s tapes included Bros, Brother Beyond, Jason Donovan, and Fields of the Nephilim.
48. Monica the greyhound was actually a Chihuahua wearing a specially made suit.
49. David Beckham has a tattoo of Maureen Holdsworth on his left buttock.  “I thought the scene where her waterbed leaked was the funniest thing I ever saw,” he said at a press conference.
50. Plotlines for the 100^th anniversary, leaked to the press, include an Andorian Space Cruiser crashing onto the street, Rosie Webster being hospitalised after her robot hip turns on her, a war between two slaves in the pit underneath the Rovers, and Ken Barlow trying to write another novel before sucking his teeth and running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Corrie anniversary trivia

(This post was originally posted by Mark Llewellin on the Coronation Street Blog November, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

MY FIFTY CORONATION STREET TOP TRIVIA FACTS


1. The first set used as the interior of the bookies had been built for the Granada sit-com 'Mother's Ruin' which starred Roy Barraclough (Alec Gilroy) and was written by John Stevenson.

2. The first actress cast as Ena Sharples was called Nita Valerie. She had run her own theatre company in Huddersfield. They cast Vi Carson as her replacement between the pilot and the first screened episode.

3. Martin Platt's dad and Curly's girlfriend Kimberley's dad were played by the same actor - John Jardine.

4. Kenneth Alan Taylor who played brewery boss Cecil Newton is married to actress Judith Barker who played Ken's wife Janet.

5. Roy and Hayley's wedding was filmed in two locations - the inside and outside of the wedding venue were actually different places.

6. The venue used as the location for Ken and Deirdre's second wedding is actually a museum.

7. The filming for Blanche's funeral took place at a different church to the one used as St Christopher's. The usual church was having major restoration work done at the time and wasn't available.

8. In the QE2 video Rita and Alec look off the back deck at fireworks going off. They were actually filmed in a field in Cheshire and added into the footage shot on the ship.

9. Mavis' budgie and Scamper, the dog owned by the Mallets, retired to a guest house in Wales after they left the show.

10. Annie Walker's maiden name was Beaumont. It's rumoured that a real lady named Annie Beaumont who ran the box office at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre inspired the name.

11. Jean Alexander (Hilda Ogden) worked in the wardrobe department at the Oldham Coliseum and was frightened by seeing a rat in amongst some costumes. She says that's why she decided to become an actress!

12. William Roache played Ken in one pilot and Philip Lowrie played him in a second pilot. Philip went on to play Dennis Tanner.

13. There is a real pub in Salford called the Rover's Return. (ed: That's a photo I took of it in Salford)

14. The real streets in the Salford Quays area are named after Canadian and American places. That's why Mike Baldwin's address was Montreal House.

15. Granada blundered by announcing the death of actress Lynne Carroll (Martha Longhurst) some months before her actual death.

16. The new 'Knight's Tale' DVD was filmed at Peckforton Castle, the same location as the Patrick Bergin 'Robin Hood' film.

17. In the scenes where Vicky Arden (Chloe Newsome) went riding on her horse Saracen, one of the riding extras in the background was William Roache's wife Sara.

18. Although a real narrow boat was used for filming the scenes with Ken and Martha, an interior set was built in the studios.

19. Dev and Sunita's wedding was filmed in the car park at Granada Studios. The street Dev rode along was a fake and the ceremony took place inside a disused studio building.

20. Chesney's market stall scenes were filmed on the old Granada Studios Tours lot. Where his stall stands used to be a copy of Checkpoint Charlie!

21. Barbara Knox, Eileen Derbyshire, Betty Driver, Tony Warren, William Roache, Roy Barraclough, Julie Goodyear and Liz Dawn all have the MBE.

22. The usual church where weddings and funerals are filmed has had another use. Next door is the rectory, which doubled as the old folk's home which Cilla worked at.

23. Bill Waddington (Percy Sugden) first embarked on a career as a butcher.

24. Jill Summers (Phyllis Pearce) was really called Honor. She chose her stage name as Jill was her favourite measurement of drink and Summer was her favourite time of the year.

The 50th anniversary picture        Thanks to:ITV

25. Jack Howarth (Uncle Albert) used to take the best cakes off the trolley at afternoon tea and put them in his pocket to take back to his hotel.

26. The picture hanging in the Barlow's hall has a scouting theme.

27. Inside the medical centre is the hospital set.

28. The site of the original outdoor set is still in use. The viaduct arches were most recently used as the front of Davenport's car showroom when Sally had her affair with the car dealer.

29. Tony Warren also wrote the TV series 'The War of Darkie Pilbeam' in which Roy Barraclough appeared dressed as a nun.

30. Bill Owen, best known as Compo in 'Last of the Summer Wine' appeared in Corrie in the early years. Very soon actress Jean Fergusson (Marina) will make an appearance as Charlotte's mum.

31. Doris Speed lived in the same street as footballer George Best.

32. Liz Dawn's real first name is Sylvia.

33. Gail's recent trial was filmed at Bradford - the same location was used for Tracy's trail.

34. The Lowry Theatre recently hosted the 'Corrie!' stage play. It also doubled as the hotel Leanne was tracked down by Janice in when she was on the game.

35. The first vegetarian character was played by Frazer Hines who went on to be Joe Sugden in 'Emmerdale'.

36. Betty married second husband Billy in the same church where Joe's funeral was held last year.

37. Betty's first husband Cyril was played by actress Mollie Sugden's real husband William Moore.

38. When the 50th anniversary cast photo was taken Nick T and Lloyd weren't there so on some versions they've been added in and on others, such as the back of the 50th book, they're missing.




??39. Alf Roberts was Mayor twice - in the 70s and 90s. The Mayoral chain changed completely in between.

40. When one of the production team retired she declared a desire to ride down the street set on an elephant. Her request was refused.

41. The cobbles changed direction when the outdoor set was re-built. It's said that there are 11,101 cobbles on the set.

42. The famous 1983 story when Mrs Walker's jag went into the lake was filmed at Tatton Park in Cheshire.

43. The Rovers' staircase used to run in the opposite direction.

44. The first 'flying ducks' to appear in Corrie weren't in Hilda's house but in Elsie Tanner's at number 11.

45. When Elsie was married off the producers decided viewers wouldn't like it if her name changed so they invented Steve Tanner as her future husband.

46. Vi Carson (Ena) was plagued with coaches of people driving past her home such that she had to change its layout and put her lounge at the rear.

47. Ena, Alec and Bet have all switched on Blackpool's famous illuminations.

48. The tram which killed Alan Bradley is still operating in Blackpool.

49. Some years ago, along Water Street, outside the studios, were hung lights depicting classic Corrie characters. Before that they'd been used in the Blackpool illuminations.

50. Long before Hyacinth Bucket was invented, actress Patricia Routledge played the owner of a café on Rosamund Street.

Compiled by Mark Llewellin, locations guide

Visit my blog http://markllewellin.blogspot.com for my favourite stories from taking Corrie fans to look at the locations used for filming.

50 Coronation Street facts

(This post was originally posted by Sunny Jim on the Coronation Street Blog in September, 2010, reposted with permission.)

Did you know that Eccles is played by 3 different dogs? Or that the first scene in episode one was planned to be a cat jumping out of a dustbin? Or that David Barlow was originally going to be called Enid? I didn't and some people might be tempted to call me a Coronation Street anorak.

 These and 47 other facts, some quite well known others slightly more obscure, can be found in an interesting article over at the Daily Mail website.