Appeal after €8k dogs raid outside home
Soap bosses told: Make scenes look real despite rules on virus We want to stay true to what Corrie is, not turn it into a medical drama
GARDAI have appealed for help after burglars stole 14 dogs worth €8,000 from outside a house.
The pets, which include Bichon Frise, Cavalier King Charles, Jack Russell and Cavachon breeds,were stolen from kennels at Tullig, Co Limerick.
A black car was seen leaving the premises at noon on Tuesday.
A Garda spokesman yesterday said: “The family concerned are deeply upset as they have owned some of these dogs for years.
“Some of the other dogs were already sold and were waiting to be collected by their new owners in the coming weeks.”
CORRIE bosses will “cheat” to make new episodes appear as realistic as possible with filming hemmed in by coronavirus rules.
To include older cast members, the ITV soap will feature Zoom calls, a popular way for groups to meet online.
There will also be “verbal come-ons” instead of kisses and library shots of child actors, not yet allowed back to the Salford set. Clever camera angles will also make couples appear intimate.
And despite location filming being axed, some stunts will still be shot, with characters at least two metres apart.
Coronation Street producer Iain Macleod said: “Our request to directors has been: cheat it. Use focal distancing and foreshortening to make it look like married couples are closer than they are and create a bit of intimacy.”
Episodes containing the first references to Covid-19 will hit screens on July 24. Mr Macleod admitted he had “agonised” over how to introduce the pandemic and is hoping viewers will be forgiving when it appears to have sprung up overnight.
He explained: “It will be a kind of day/ night transition in our fictional universe. I think the audience will go with it. There wasn’t really any other way of doing it. It will be equally good – just a bit different.”
He said the new scenes were stripped back and use fewer people and props, adding: “It’s been incredibly challenging.
“On kissing, we had a scene which would have required Character A to have lip contact, so instead the writer had to very cleverly craft [it] so the come-on was verbal. It works equally well.” Older characters such as Ken Barlow (Bill Roache), Rita Tanner (Barbara Knox) and Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) will not return to the set yet – but will make occasional appearances.
Mr Macleod explained: “Have we considered having the older or medically vulnerable cast on Zoom calls? Yes. We’re very keen to make sure we keep as many of our wonderful cast and brilliant characters on screen as we can.”
The effects of the virus will be seen more than talked about, with plenty of social distancing between households. “We took the view that it’s better to let viewers see the new world we all live in rather than talk about it,” Macleod said.
“We want to stay true to what Corrie is, not turn it into a medical drama.”
Several stories had to be scrapped, changed or paused. Some due to be filmed on location will now take place on the cobbles, others have been pushed back. But a car stunt, to air in August, will be filmed within weeks.
John Whiston, managing director of the drama, said it was hoped to get back to filming six instalments a week by autumn. But he fears a second peak of the virus could impact the soap’s 60th anniversary in December.
Mr Macleod summed up: “We’ve had to strip out some bigger, spectacular elements and to my immense relief below all that are three or four fantastically good stories, including a salacious love triangle. What we’re left with is essential soap viewing.”
IAIN MACLOUD ON WHY THE VIRUS WON’T BECOME TOO PROMINENT