Coronation Streets
Chief’s ‘excitement’ at expansion of set
AFTER almost 60 years as a TV giant, Corrie is getting bigger than ever in more ways than one.
Not only is it being expanded to six episodes a week but work has started on extending the set so it is more than a single street.
The revamp should be done and dusted by the end of the summer.
Show chief Kate Oates says: “What I’m really excited about is the extension. When somebody walks down Coronation Street and turns a corner and carries on walking... It will be a bit like a Truman Show experience.”
The completion of the work in Trafford, Greater Manchester, is expected to coincide with the soap being on six nights a week.
Kate is unfazed by the extra shows, having made six a week while she was the boss at Emmerdale. She says: “I think it will be fine. We don’t work weekends there unless there is an issue with illness or a big problem.
“People don’t collapse with exhaustion. It is about making sure the story balance is right. I want to make sure you feel there is loads to be talking about.”
There certainly is at the moment. And fans will be treated to an episode every weekday this week, all starting at 9pm.
Viewers are glued to three big storylines – Daniel Barlow trying to explain pushing his dad Ken down the stairs; Bethany Platt being groomed; and Nick Tilsley (played by Ben Price) heading for the exit.
Kate, who began running Corrie last year, also whizzed through some twists to be aired this summer.
Killer Pat Phelan will show a softer side when his daughter is brought into the ITV soap.
Meanwhile, Michelle Connor’s relationship with Robert faces a test when her ex-lover Will comes back on the scene.
Kate adds: “The Bethany story isn’t over. What you will see is Sarah and David and the Platt family realising what has been happening... but it is not that simple.
“Bethany has been brainwashed. Just because you are pulled out of danger doesn’t mean you go ‘oh my God’ and you can see the truth. So there is a little way to go.”