Corrie Fan Issue #53: Smoke & Mirrors

Up and Down the Cobbles

We are all familiar with “the Street”. Those famous cobbles stretching from the Rovers Return at the top down to the viaduct at the bottom. On one side of the Street is a block of old terraced homes ending in the Corner Shop. On the other side of the Street is a more modern group of rebuilt homes ending at the Kabin. In between the rebuilt homes and the Kabin is a small courtyard leading to Websters Garage and Underworld.

Across the bottom of the Street runs a viaduct with a tram line on top. We are all very aware of that tram line now aren’t we? But wait, how much of all this is real? Well actually, almost none of it. I am so sorry to spoil any illusions you might have, but … it’s all fake! Even the Rovers Return isn’t real. Well, at least it isn’t the same Rovers as the one used for filming anyway.

Tram? What Tram?

Let’s start with that tram line. It isn’t even there! In real life, the wall at the end of the Street is the outside wall of the studio property. Beyond it are warehouses. The tram that you often see crossing the viaduct at the end of the Street is a computer trick. Don’t believe me? Check it out on Google Earth and see for yourself. If you squint really hard at the satellite picture of the outside set you can just make out the figure of a Canadian fan standing outside the gate with an autograph pad and pen in hand. That’s Deborah.

So what about the Rovers Return? It’s a sham, pub scenes are filmed on an indoor set. And the Kabin? The Corner Store? Underworld? Or what about the Joinery – the new bar that opened with a bang? Nah, sorry.

In truth, nearly all the scenes that you watch on TV are filmed in studio sets – mock-ups of the interior of the homes and businesses that are portrayed as being on the Street.

The following series of shots show some of the sets.

Shot 1: Inside the Barlow residence

Shot 2: Roy’s Rolls

Shot 3: Fiz and John Stape (when he isn’t inside the slammer)

Shot 4: Inside the Peacock home (only there aren’t so many of them as there used to be)

Shot 5: Audrey’s Salon – home of the best cut and blow-dry on the Street

Shot 6: A cosy cubicle inside the Rovers

Shot 7: Outside the Rovers – but inside the studio!

Shot 8: The Rovers – oops! Where’s the wall?

Shot 9: Darts anyone? But don’t hit the cameraman!

Shot 10: Dev’s Corner Shop

Who Lives Where?

Okay, let’s forget everything we said about studio mock-ups and pubs that don’t really exist and go back to our comfort zone of a nice cosy Street full of characters that make us laugh, cry, and mad. Let us enjoy the fictional Weatherfield street where all these characters live, work and play.

Who lives where on the Street? Can you identify who lives in each of the homes along the Street? Don’t worry, we have compiled a list of the current residents (list compiled October 2011).

Let’s start on the “old” side of the Street where the Rovers Return anchors the end of Coronation Street. The Rovers doesn’t seem to have a municipal street number because the home next door is #1 Coronation Street. That is strange because all the other businesses on the Street are numbered.

The “new” side of the Street has been rebuilt with more modern homes and is also the side of the Street where four of the six businesses on the Street are located.

But Wait! What About?

Did you notice some omissions from the list? Where is Roy’s Rolls? And what about Barlow’s Bookies? Or the Builder’s Yard? Where is the Medical Centre (where Gail Platt worked and was fired) and where is the Kebab shop?. The answer is … nearby. There are two adjacent streets; Victoria Street and Rosamund Street where you will find the remaining homes and businesses. These other two streets have been partially constructed on the outdoor set.

Peek Inside and What Do You See?

Well, not a lot really. Most are built as a fairly authentic brick facade (built from reclaimed local brick) but there is no proper structure to the buildings, not even enough structure to support real chimneys. Many of the chimneys are made of fibreglass (although the switch to HD filming is believed to have brought about a change to real brick). The space inside the “homes” is believed to be used as makeshift office space, or as a storage area for props.

The flat above Audrey’s Salon is actually a “green room” (waiting area) for extras and support staff. The green room for the cast is inside “Studio One” where the sets are located and inside shots are filmed.

Three of the buildings have been built with real interiors: the kebab shop, Elliott’s Butchers and Barlow’s Bookies. When scenes are shot inside these businesses you are seeing the real McCoy instead of a mock-up inside Studio One.

Bloopers

One of the problems with faking it is that eventually you will get caught. There have been several reported instances of scenes making it to air in which evidence of the hidden production secrets has been visible. One of the most notable was shots in the backyards showing the end of the fictitious viaduct. Other shots have had camera angles that are a little too high, revealing the lack of ceiling in the studio sets. If you watch very carefully, when somebody uses the washroom at the Rovers Return, the physical location of the washrooms would have to be inside the Barlows’ home next door if the scene had really been shot out on the outdoor set.

Like me, you may now want to watch very carefully, looking for giveaway clues, like out of place studio fixtures, lack of ceilings or a building orientation that just doesn’t seem right. But, don’t let it spoil your enjoyment of the world’s best and longest running soap. This is our Corrie, and yes it may be just theatre, but it is all ours in our hearts and minds.

Been There Done That

Have you “been there and done that”. I talk to or meet fans almost every day who have been on the tour (see the feedback from Darlene Elford, below). Can you add anything to this story? What was your experience like? Whose chair did you sit in? What did you see inside the studio? Blighty’s Corrie Fan Newsletter would love to hear from you. Please send your contribution using our fan feedback form and it will feature in a future issue of this newsletter.

Where Are They Now?

Remember poor Maureen Webster? Or perhaps you knew her better as Maureen Holdsworth? Maureen was the poor store assistant hired by Curly Watts in the mid 1990s. Maureen’s love life had a lot of ups and downs and most of it was caused by her domineering mother Maud.

Maureen went through marriages to Frank Naylor, Reg Holdsworth and Bill Webster punctuated by flings with Curly Watts and a near miss with Fred Elliott (I say, a near miss). The relationship with Bill Webster finally ended when he entertained Audrey between his sheets and Audrey’s poison-dwarf grandson (yes, the ever charming David Platt) spilled the beans to Maureen.

When we last heard of Maureen she was living in Germany but the actress who played that role, Sherrie Hewson had actually moved on to other roles in her diverse and highly successful acting career.

So what is Sherrie up to now?

Foxy Bingo catches up with Loose Women’s Sherrie Hewson

Internet gambling mogul and notorious ladies’ man Foxy Bingo caught up with Loose Women panelist and new star of Benidorm, Sherrie Hewson, in an exclusive web chat to be hosted at FoxyBingo.com. In the interview, the latest in a string of celebrity interviews hosted by the bushy-tailed bingo star, Foxy and Sherrie discuss why she would like to punch National sweetheart and glamorous Geordie Cheryl Cole in the face as well as that infamous date with Steve McQueen. The full interview can be viewed exclusively at FoxyBingo.com.

Fan Feedback

Hello John, I have been on the “World of Coronation Street Tour” four times and loved every minute of it. My husband and I went the first time in 2006 and then I went back in 2007, 2008 and the big one in 2010 for the 50th anniversary. I have had the best time of my life on the tours and have met so many new friends. We still keep in touch, either with lunch out, a phone call and at Christmas with cards.

I have met Ciaran, Ken, Molly, Hayley, Tyrone, Jack, Graeme, Fiz, Sean, Kevin, Rosie, Sally, Sophie, Ashley, Becky, Sunita, Jason and many more.

I will definitely go on the tour again and if anyone is thinking of going in the Corrie tour “GO FOR IT”. Life is too short so enjoy it now.

The World of Coronation Street Tour to which Darlene refers is organized by Kemptville Travel, 88 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario 416-489-2424 or 1-866-887-0865; email info@kemptvilletravel.com. The tour takes place each September and is one of the only ways that fans can get onto the set.

Read the Comments

Do you go back and visit previous newsletters to read other fans’ comments? I personally read every word of every comment received and thoroughly enjoy hearing what other Canadian fans have to say about the newsletter, the show, the characters and the actors. The comments to the last issue of this newsletter were particularly interesting. Why not take a look at them. Visit Blighty’s Corrie Fan Newsletter Issue #52 (link opens in a new window) then scroll down to the bottom to read all the comments.

Prize Trivia Contest

Well, it looks like the majority of fans who entered the trivia contest in issue #52 voted Tony Gordon the “King of the Cons”. Let me ask you a question. How could you all have been so wrong? The judge (that’s me) tried very hard to give instructions to the jury (that’s you) that Tony Gordon was a good guy. Here is what I said:

So what didn’t you all understand about that? Oh, I guess I’m outnumbered and have to submit to the will of the majority. Alright then folks, the King of the Cons is … ouch, I can’t seem to type any more … err … um … Tony Gordon. But he was a good guy deep down you know!

#1 is #1

We said the prize would go to the first person to vote for the eventual winner. Well, guess who that was? It was none other than Canada’s Official #1 Corrie Fan Deborah Cyr. Well done Deborah; a 2012 Corrie calendar will be in the mail to you soon.

And Now … [drum roll] … For This Week’s Trivia Question

Make a list of all the good things you can say about Tony Gordon. The longest list wins (alright, I am just kidding; don’t do that). Here is the real question:

Colin Fishwick is currently lying underneath several tons of concrete inside the foundation of the rebuilt Underworld (rebuilt because Tony Gordon destroyed the place; but then he had to didn’t he – who can blame him? Huh?). But where did John Stapes claim that Colin had gone?

That may be the easiest question ever to appear in Blighty’s Corrie Fan Newsletter; so we are going to make selection of the winner very interesting. The 13th and 39th correct entries will each receive a prize. The winners can choose between an official 2012 Corrie Calendar or a, made in the UK, Corrie scarf. 

Entries must be made only by using the “Leave a Reply” box at the end of this newsletter. All entries are automatically time and date-stamped by the system and that is the only fair way we have to determine the winners. You must be a registered subscriber of this newsletter to win. Subscription is easy and free.

I want to thank all the great Blighty’s Corrie Fan Newsletter subscribers who regularly enter our contests. If you haven’t entered before why not give it a try this time around?