Queen graces the cobbles of Weatherfield
Her Majesty pops into the Rovers Return on visit to as the soap celebrates its 60th year
TWO much-loved and longrunning British institutions united as the Queen visited the set of Coronation Street.
The cobbles of Weatherfield have seen a host of famous faces but for only the second time the head of state walked down the street, home to the ITV soap, celebrating its 60th year on UK` screens.
The Queen began her 40minute tour with four actors who between them have more than 200 years service on the show.
Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, Barbara Knox who is cast as Rita, Sue Nicholls who plays Audrey and Helen Worth, known to millions of soap fans as Gail, greeted the Queen with bows and curtsies outside the Rovers Return.
Roache told the Queen he had first seen her when she visited Jamaica in 1963, when he was serving as an officer with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
He added: “Thank you so much for coming today.”
Knox told the Queen when she first arrived: “Good morning, your majesty, you have brought the sunshine.
“You know you are like a ray of sunshine.
“And you’ve given us all such a lift (with) you coming, thank you very very much indeed.
“We all absolutely adore you, the world adores you.”
The Queen, who asked how they had managed to keep filming during the pandemic, replied: “It’s really marvellous you’ve been able to carry on”, and Roache replied to laughter: “Well, ma’am, you’re the one who has carried on.”
Further up the street outside number five, the Queen met the fictional “Bailey” family, and was told the set’s cobbles were the original ones taken from the old Granada street set in Manchester, before it moved three miles up the road to the new ITV Studios in 2013.
Kate Spencer, who plays Grace Vickers, warned the Queen: “Hard to walk on, as well, in heels.”
To laughter, the Queen, looking down at her shoes, replied: “No, I know. I’ve been told. Probably better not.”
After chatting to back stage production staff, including writers, camera operators, set designers and sound engineers, the Queen spoke to the fictional Dobson family, including Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz and Maureen Lipman, who plays Evelyn Plummer holding the lead of Bob, or Cerberus in the show, a pet whippet.
Next the Queen spoke to cast members who live on the “posh” side of the street, over the road from the terraced houses.
As the Queen studied the cast members she asked: “I have not been able to see it all the time.
“Are you all nice?” Ben Price, who plays Nick, stood alongside Corrie “villain” David, played by Jack P Shepherd, said: “I can confidently say Jack is a bad boy.
“There always has to be conflict.”
The royal visitor finished her tour outside the corner shop, speaking to cast including Jimmi Harkishin, who plays Dev and being told of the sometimes challenging issues and plot-lines the soap has dealt with.
The Queen said: “Obviously people feel its something visible, they can relate to.
“You don’t really want too much real life do you?”
Next the royal visitor moved to the studio where she chatted with staff at the bar of the Rovers Return, talking about how the everyday lives of ordinary northern folk is reflected in the soap.
Sally Ann Matthews, who plays Jenny Connor, landlady of the fictional pub, told the Queen: “We know as actors how fortunate we’ve been to keep working when so many in the industry, it’s been so badly affected and a pub, as the hospitality sector has been so badly affected as well.”
Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Webster said: “The great thing about Coronation Street is that we manage to have the comedy with the drama so that’s been a really, really important thing over the lockdown as well.”
Antony Cotton, who plays Sean Tully, added: “We’ve tried to make people laugh along the way.”
To laughter, the Queen replied: “Well, there wasn’t much to laugh about, was there?”
Finally the Queen was introduced to Charlotte Jordan, who plays Daisy Midgeley, the street “troublemaker” she was told.
The Queen replied: “I suppose life is a trouble.”
Before leaving to cheers and applause by the more than 300 cast and crew on the set, the royal visitor was presented with a “Corrie Cobble” from the original set, specially engraved by a local stonemason and some Newton & Ridley beer mats.