Royal Mail marks 60th anniversary
COBBLED TOGETHER: STAMPS CELEBRATE CORRIE COUPLES
CORONATION STREET’S muchloved duos are being resurrected on Royal Mail stamps.
Sharp-tongued Ena Sharples and her nemesis Elsie Tanner and Vera and Jack Duckworth, famous for their rows, feature, alongside Hilda Ogden and husband Stan.
The eight stamps mark the ITV soap’s 60th anniversary. Doubleacts Deirdre and Ken Barlow, Rita Tanner and Norris Cole, Hayley and Roy Cropper, Sunita and Dev Alahan and Tracy and Steve McDonald also appear in stamp form, with each image containing a quote conveying “the essence” of the relationship.
Four further stamps, in a miniature sheet, celebrate characters who have worked behind the bar at the Rovers Return – Bet Lynch, Raquel Watts, Liz McDonald and Gemma Winter.
Series producer Iain MacLeod said: “In our historic 60th year, it is an honour to have the show immortalised in this fashion.
“Coronation Street has had many iconic double acts down the years. Indeed, it’s a defining feature of the show. I hope fans will agree that the ones we’ve chosen, after much heated debate, are among the best of the bunch.”
Royal Mail’s stamp strategy manager Philip Parker said: “For six decades Coronation Street’s fans have witnessed the unfolding lives of its residents, and shared their sorrows and laughter. We celebrate the nation’s best-known street with stamps showing some of its unforgettable characters.”
First broadcast in 1960, Corrie is the world’s longest-running TV continuing drama – known as a soap opera – with over 10,000 episodes featuring more than 5,000 characters.
Only one original member of the cast – Ken Barlow, played by William Roache – is still has a role today. ITV has halted production and reduced its transmission to make the episodes which have already been recorded last longer. Coronavirus will feature in future episodes.