The Street EXPLODES!
Iain teases his ideas for Corrie’s 60th anniversary…
There has been no spectacle greater in soap than when a tram crashed on to the cobbles in 2010 to mark the Street’s 50th birthday. So, as the show turns 60 this December, the pressure is on to deliver an even greater show-stopper…
“It’s an astonishing landmark – and at the start of the year, we have our 10,000th episode that we are intending to mark with something ‘classic Corrie’ that has a comedic and characterdriven vibe,” shares Iain. “The 60th is likely to be something more explosive. The expectation from the audience now with anniversaries isn’t necessarily death and destruction, but that a spectacle is attached to it. We have some fairly novel ideas that we are exploring at the moment, so that should be exciting!”
It sounds as if Steve is going to need his mum Liz more than ever, although actress Beverly Callard is leaving!
Oh, I’m gutted! Liz’s departure is a long way off yet, but we want it to be big, heroic and befitting of the character.
She’s a tough woman, is Liz Mcdonald, so we want to reflect that. The idea – which is still in its embryonic stages – is that Liz attempts to do something heroic for her son as a result of this story I’m hinting at for Steve and Tracy. Her efforts probably go slightly wrong in a way that will corrupt her relationship with Steve, and ultimately determine that the best place for her is not in Weatherfield.
While we’re on the subject of exits, you are losing Lucy Fallon – who plays Bethany – this year. What more can you tell us about her doomed trajectory with widower Daniel?
We’ll learn something about Carla’s lost weekend during her mental health story…”
So, what we have at first is a slow-burn story that gradually ramps up in intensity where Daniel, in his efforts to move on from Sinead, sort of takes her edict that he should be happy. I’m sure that you will remember the line where she said, “Don’t forget about me, but do forget about me”. He sort of manages to get his head around that, and finishes up accelerating into a romantic entanglement with Bethany, which I think we all know is going to end in tears for the pair of them.
In contrast, Peter and Carla are in a better place than ever. What does 2020 have in store for them?
There is quite a lot coming up for them later in the year. Firstly, we wanted to see Carla regain her status as ‘Queen of the cobbles’. After her mental health story, I felt as if we had to have a period where she looked after herself, rather than run a business like the ball-breaking go-getter we know that she can be. That then gave me an appetite to witness her back in the saddle, so we’ll see her regain some of her former status. We will also find out something about Carla’s lost weekend, where she went missing during her mental health story. That kicks off in April, and provides a bump in the road for her and Peter. Ultimately, they will navigate that as they love each other, and this thing occurred during a time when Carla wasn’t in possession of her mental health. Will they be together in 10 years’ time? Who knows? But I don’t see them splitting up in the foreseeable future.