WELCOME TO CORRIE TOWN
Extra sets add shops and an eaterie
CORONATION Street is to become an entire town, the long-running soap’s producer has now revealed.
Viewers will see action played out in a host of new locations as the ITV show goes to six episodes a week.
Scene settings will include a park, a new restaurant, businesses, stores and a shopping precinct.
That is in addition to the already announced Weatherfield Police Station and a new street.
The extra sets are essential to enable multiple scenes to be shot simultane- ously so the cast and crew can meet the extra demand of making more episodes each week.
Producer Kate Oates, 37, said construction work was under way and is due to be completed by spring next year.
She told What’s On TV magazine: “There will be a couple of new businesses and we’re going to have a little park area. So not everything will happen at the Red Rec.
“Sometimes we say in the story office that if Maxine hadn’t died where would people go to think – because it is Maxine’s bench where people have their pensive moments.
“So they will have somewhere else for a pensive moment.
“You want precincts where people can gather.
“There may also be another eaterie with a different kind of vibe. We have already got the cafe and bistro. It’s nice to see a community feel.
“It does well for social dynamics if you’ve got people who were friends who are now colleagues or someone is someone’s boss. “It always adds a nice energy.” The locations will also provide a backdrop for new characters.
And the set expansion should create 40 permanent new jobs.