Inside Soap UK 49 - 2020

“You could say that Corrie changed my life” My first memory of being really gripped by something on TV is watching Coronation Street. Deirdre had left Tracy in her pushchair outside the Rovers (it was different times then) and a lorry careered into the front of the pub, leaving frantic Deirdre pulling wood and debris away, convinced her daughter was trapped beneath it (spoiler: she wasn’t). I think it was that scene which made me a Corrie fan, which is ultimately why I’m now doing what I’m doing. So, you could say that Corrie changed my life. I’d like to thank the Street for that, and for the sheer joy the show has brought me since that day when I wouldn’t stop asking my mum if Tracy was going to…

Yes, it’s 60 years since student Kenneth Barlow was accused of being “a stuck-up snob”, and old Ena Sharples popped into the corner shop for a bottle of bleach, six fancies – no éclairs! – and to warn the new owner that “there’s some very funny people on this street” (especially the local scarlet woman, Elsie Tanner). Six decades later, everything has changed, and yet nothing has changed. Yes, the drama may be more vivid, and the stakes higher, but rebel Ken Barlow is still fighting – if now to defend his backstreet home rather than escape it – while gossip remains rife at the corner shop; mostly about the fate of poor Yasmeen at No 6, or the antics of local scarlet woman Carla Connor. This special week of…

The residents of the Street mount a daring protest to save the community this week – as a bulldozer moves in to demolish their homes! Having bought up one side of the cobbles, dodgy businessman Ray plans to knock it all down and replace it with a luxury development that will earn him big bucks. However, what he hasn’t banked on is the plucky locals rallying together, and doing everything in their power to halt him in his tracks… “Abi wants to protect this community, as much as the Street,” explains Sally Carman, who plays the protest ringleader. “This is the first time in Abi’s life that she has finally been able to lay down some roots and feel accepted and loved. It’s also the first time she has settled…

While the rest of the Street has seen Ray for the monster he really is, impressionable Faye puts her misgivings aside this week – and joins her boss in his office for a drink! However, the night takes a sinister turn. And as Gary arrives to hear his sister crying out from behind the locked office door, there’s hell to pay… “Gary walks into the Bistro at night, and he can hear Faye shouting at Ray,” says Mikey North, who plays Gary. “When he finds them in the office, Faye looks upset – and at first Gary thinks they have been together in the conventional way. However, it’s soon clear to him that something untoward has happened. He isn’t quite sure to what extent that is, but it’s obvious that…

It’s the Corrie story that has gripped the nation all year – and this week, Yasmeen’s fate is finally decided as she stands trial for attacking Geoff. Of course, it’s her abusive husband whom viewers really want to see brought to justice, following months of horror and torture that he has inflicted on poor Yasmeen. Yet in what stands to be the biggest week of drama the cobbles has witnessed in years, this story takes a shocking twist. After a fire breaks out at No 6 Coronation Street – where Yasmeen has already suffered so much pain at the hands of Geoff – it seems that there can only be greater tragedy ahead… Battle stations First, there is the matter of the trial, which seems to have swung against Yasmeen……

Congratulations Shelley and Ian for all your hard work on this storyline. How does it feel to bring it to an end? Shelley I just feel so privileged and honoured that me, Ian, and the Nazir family have been given the responsibility of exploring this storyline. I feel very humbled, and I hope that we’ve done it justice. Ian It’s an incredible privilege, and I can’t wait to see it all play out on screen. The fact that the 60th anniversary has come at such a significant point in our story makes me feel remarkably honoured – but we mustn’t forget that Yasmeen will have to deal with the effects of her time with Geoff for the rest of her life, so it’s not the end of the story in…