Facts about Coronation Street that may surprise you

Coronation Street is the world’s longest running soap, with three hour-long episodes aired every week, so a lot goes down. It’s easy to assume that you know everything about the cobbled streets’ down to earth characters if you’ve been watching Corrie for as long as I have. But, with the soap gripping us for over six decades, there’s likely to be a few gems that will surprise you, and that you’ll enjoy learning as a fan. Here are a few fun facts about Coronation Street.

Food facts

The show debuted in high definition in 2010, which is the point where food in Roy’s Rolls became real after it was previously fake.
A weak shandy is served at the Rovers and G&Ts are nothing more than fizzy water.
Roy’s Rolls in Victoria Street reportedly fries 300 eggs a week for its hungry customers.

Street deaths

Coronation Street’s death toll is pretty high and currently stands at 208 death since the soap began. Most memorable life end moments include villain serial killer Richard Hillman. He drowned after kidnapping Gail and her children by driving them to a canal. He then perished in front of them while they all survived. Grim. The tram scene from the eighties that hit and killed Alan Bradley instantly is another iconic episode that stands out for its nasty ending. He was chasing Rita at the time, who’d escaped from his car. More kidnapping! In the iconic storyline Rita escaped from his car to run, which sealed the fate of nasty Alan.
In 1987, Hilda Ogden’s departure from the cobbles ranked as Corrie’s most watched episode. 26.65 million people watched the episode and the farewell of straight talking, head scarves and 23 years on the street.

Actor facts

Peter Barlow has been played by a total of seven actors and was born on screen during an episode in 1965, alongside his twin sister, Susan. Among the actors are John Heannau (1965–1970), Chris Dormer (1970–1971), and Mark Duncan (1971). Linus Roache (1973–1975), Joseph McKenner (1977–1978), and David Lonsdale (1986), as well as our Chris Gascoyne (2000–present).
I couldn’t talk Coronation Street facts without mention of William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow and starred in the first episode of the soap in 1960. He is the only original cast member still with the show. In fact, his achievement has earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records.

Weddings

There have been over 130 weddings in Corrie’s 60-year history (over 30 didn’t go ahead), with some characters luckier than others in love. Gail Platt for example has said her nuptials six times! And, Steve McDonald has given Ian Beale a run for his money with seven weddings to five women. That’s a lot of confetti!
Ken and Deirdre’s wedding in 1981 was watched by more viewers than the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana a few days later.

Corrie’s glossy

After the series moved to HD in 2010, the props department produced Chit Chat, Corrie’s very own magazine.

Impressive statistics

There were 541 complaints regarding Pat Phelan’s brutal double murder in March 2018, when Phelan shoot Andy Carver just moments after forcing him to shoot Vinny Ashford.
Apparently, Corrie takes 66 hours to film six episodes, which are shown in three one hour slots (six episodes on a weekly basis).
Corrie has about 11,000 cobble stones and is a worldwide success, shown in 40 countries, with Canadians being the second biggest fans, with 60,000 viewers watching every episode weekly.
There’s been a lot of crashes, including a train crash, tram crash, coach crash, lorry crash, minibus crash, as well as numerous factory fires.
Tony Warren created Corrie and wrote the first 14 episodes himself. Today, there are 144 writers on the show.
Some 57 babies have been born, among them a few in the Rovers, one during a Nativity play and cable car. David and Sarah Platt are Corrie babies, who have appeared on the show since their birth.

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