IT'S SUDS LORE
How they create the magic of soapland
Coronation Street’s first set was built in 1960 in a disused studio on the old Quay Street site. Since 2014, it’s been shot on a set in Salford’s MediaCity.
The updated 2018 set features the Weatherfield North tram station. The handles on the doors are the original Rovers Return door handles. The cobbles of Victoria Street are also from the old Quay Street set.
The beer served in the Rovers is very weak shandy. Gin and tonic is made with fizzy water and lime juice.
In EastEnders’ Queen Vic, the beer is real. But water is used instead of vodka and gin, while diluted apple juice doubles for white wine.
Emmerdale’s Woolpack punters also sup a real pint – although they are advised to only drink the alcohol during takes, and limit themselves to small amounts. Around 20 gallons of beer and lager are delivered to the set each week.
EastEnders characters are actually buried in Watford. Large funeral scenes are filmed in North Watford Cemetery. Smaller grave-visiting scenes are filmed on a patch of grass in the studio’s backlot with a headstone temporarily erected
When you open the front doors of the Queen Vic, inside is just the corner of a bar. The full interior is in Elstree Studio One.
In Hollyoaks, the sweets in Price Slice are real. But the wine is fake – as are the cakes in Esther’s Magic Bean
Do not lean on the railings if you ever visit Albert Square – they are made of plastic and would collapse.
As most soaps are filmed six to 12 weeks in advance, crew have to think about the weather. In EastEnders, fake leaves are added to trees and plastic daffodils put in the ground to make it look more like spring than winter.
Emmerdale even has a full-time gardener who works in the evening to make sure it all looks correct. Daffodils are grown in greenhouses before planting outdoors to ensure they bloom.
Corrie brides often get several wedding dresses so they look fresh during weeks of filming. Tina O’Brien had five bridal gowns for SarahLouise Platt’s wedding to Jason Grimshaw as it had to tear and have red wine poured on it.
The most expensive set in Hollyoaks is Dee Valley Hospital as crew have to make sure it is up to date with medical machinery.
The outdoor Albert Square set was built on the same plot of land used for the building site in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, which aired the year before EastEnders’ 1985 launch.