''Coronation Street'' Live is a live episode of the British soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', which was first broadcast on Thursday 9 December 2010 on ITV. The special live edition was to celebrate fifty years of the programme being on air. The sixty-minute episode was directed by Tony Prescott, who had directed the soap's 40th anniversary live episode in December 2000. The episode, the 7487th in the series, was written by Jan McVerry and produced by

Phil Collinson Philip Collinson (born 26 August 1970) is a British television producer. He was initially an actor, before switching to working behind the cameras in the industry as a script editor and writer on programmes such as ''Springhill'' and ''Emmerdale ...

for

ITV Studios ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is ba ...

. It was filmed at the

Granada Studios Granada Studios was a television studio complex and events venue on Quay Street in Manchester, England, with the facility to broadcast live and recorded television programmes. The studios were the headquarters of Granada Television from 1956 to ...

complex in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. To celebrate the show's 50th anniversary, episodes were broadcast every day during the week 6–10 December 2010 under the advertisement banner "Four Funerals and a Wedding". An episode broadcast the preceding Monday showed a gas explosion in local bar The Joinery, causing a

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

to crash from the viaduct into the Corner Shop and The Kabin opposite. The live episode continued to depict the aftermath of the accident, such as the rescue attempts and deaths of the characters Ashley Peacock ( Steven Arnold) and

Molly Dobbs Molly Dobbs (also Compton) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Vicky Binns, she debuted on 5 September 2005. Introduced as the daughter of a local baker, she is the love interest and later ...

( Vicky Binns), an emergency marriage between Peter Barlow (

Chris Gascoyne Chris Gascoyne (born 31 January 1968) is an English film, theatre and television actor. He is best known for his role as Peter Barlow in the soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Making his first appearance in December 2000 during a live, 50 minut ...

) and

Leanne Battersby Leanne Battersby (also Tilsley and Barlow) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Jane Danson. It was announced in February 1997 that a "fam ...

( Jane Danson) on Peter's hospital bed, Fiz Stape (

Jennie McAlpine Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine (born 12 February 1984) is an English television actress, comedian and businesswoman. She is known for her roles as Michelle Morley in Emmerdale and Fiz Brown in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street' ...

) giving birth prematurely to her daughter

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

, and Molly's revelation to

Sally Webster Sally Webster (also Seddon and Metcalfe) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Sally Dynevor. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 27 January 1986, when Kev ...

(

Sally Dynevor Sally Jane Dynevor (née Whittaker; born 30 May 1963) is an English actress, she is best known for her role as Sally Metcalfe in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which she has played since 1986. In 2022, Dynevor competed in the fourt ...

) that her husband Kevin (

Michael Le Vell Michael Robert Turner (born 15 December 1964), known professionally as Michael Le Vell, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as mechanic Kevin Webster in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role he has played ...

) fathered Molly's recently born baby Jack. The episode attracted an average of 14 million viewers, peaking at 14.9 million, the show's highest audience for seven years. Critical reception was mainly positive. According to Daniel Kilkelly of the

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

website, the opening of the episode featured the first

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...

in live television.

(who plays Fiz Stape) also became the first actress ever to act out a birth live on a soap opera.

Plot summary

The special anniversary was marked with a storyline in which the residents had to deal with a tragic accident and its aftermath. In the storyline, Nick Tilsley ( Ben Price) and

's ( Jane Danson) bar – The Joinery – explodes during Peter Barlow's (

) stag party. As a result, the viaduct running above the restaurant is destroyed, sending a

careering onto the street, destroying D&S Alahan's Corner Shop and '' The Kabin''. Two characters, Ashley Peacock ( Steven Arnold) and

( Vicky Binns), and an unnamed taxi driver perished as a result of the disaster.

Rita Sullivan Rita Tanner (also Littlewood, Bates, Fairclough and Sullivan) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by veteran actress Barbara Knox, the charac ...

( Barbara Knox) survives despite being trapped under the rubble of her destroyed shop. At the same time Fiz Stape (

) prematurely gives birth to a baby girl,

, after her husband

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(

Graeme Hawley Graeme Hawley (born 25 February 1975) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Dave then as DC Martin Crowe in ''Emmerdale'' and John Stape in the British soap ''Coronation Street''. Career Hawley graduated from Manchester Metrop ...

) strikes his stalker

Charlotte Hoyle Charlotte Hoyle is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Becky Hindley. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 9 April 2010 and departed on 10 December 2010 after bei ...

(

Becky Hindley Rebecca "Becky" Hindley (born 11 August 1965) is an English television, stage and radio actress based in Lancaster, England. She is best known for her eight-month stint in ''Coronation Street'' as Charlotte Hoyle in 2010; her performance as th ...

) with a hammer to silence her. He later poses as Colin Fishwick (

David Crellin David Crellin (born 1961) is an English actor. Crellin, who was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, is known for roles in ''Emmerdale'' as Billy Hopwood, BBC 2's BAFTA Award-winning series '' The Cops'' as Alan Wakefield, and ''Coronation St ...

), Charlotte's supposed partner, attempting to turn off her life support. Peter marries Leanne in an emergency hospital ceremony shortly before going into cardiac arrest, although he later rallies and makes a slow recovery.

Production

Origins

Early episodes of ''Coronation Street'' were broadcast live. A live episode was produced in December 2000 to celebrate the programme's 40th anniversary. As the show's 50th anniversary approached, speculation began to grow as to whether another live edition would be broadcast, particularly after rival soap ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' aired its own live edition to celebrate its 25th anniversary on air in February 2010. In April 2010, William Roache, who has portrayed Ken Barlow since the show's first episode, said that ITV would not be airing another live edition of ''Coronation Street'', saying, "We're not going to do a live episode, we did that in the Millennium year he show's 40th anniversary we don't want to do that again." Reflecting upon the 2000 episode in November 2010, Roache said that he was glad when it was over and that "they won't do that again". He joked, "anyone who said that they enjoyed the live episode are either not telling the truth or they're masochists." However, on 29 August, actor Keith Duffy said that ''Coronation Street'' would air a live episode to celebrate its 50th anniversary, something which was confirmed on 1 September by ITV. It was later confirmed that the episode would be aired as part of a week-long celebration of the soap's 50th birthday.

, who had only recently taken over as producer, explained:

I thought we wouldn't go live, but quickly realised we should. I think we can deliver the most spectacular piece of live television people have ever seen. ''Coronation Street'' has such a heritage – the first episodes were filmed that way, and we did it ten years ago. My ambition is for the episode to be like a disaster movie with stunts. It'll be action-packed. I want people to sit at home and think, 'There's no way they did that live, not in a million years!'

The anniversary was celebrated with a storyline involving an explosion in The Joinery, causing a tram to crash from the viaduct into the Kabin and Corner Shop. According to producer Phil Collinson, the storyline was a sign that TV shows now have to strive harder to make an impact. "Television has changed. Programmes like ''Coronation Street'' have to stand up against massive pieces of

event television Event television (sometimes used in verb form as the buzzword "eventize") is a television network marketing concept which arose in the early 2010s and is characterized by a shift in priorities towards enticing audiences to watch programming immedia ...

like ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' and ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

''. So we had to do something extraordinary. When drama pushes the boat out, it has to push it out really far. I think the days are over when television drama can sit back and leave it to your imagination. We have to compete against those great big juggernauts." The tram crashed during an episode broadcast on Monday 6 December, with episodes later that week, including the live episode, depicting the rescues and aftermath.

Filming

The live show involved 65 actors and a 300-strong crew. The episode opened with a wide shot of other streets in the fictional Weatherfield, reported by Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly to have been the first

to be produced live. In reality, the Coronation Street set is surrounded by the

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

complex in

Manchester city centre Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...

. The special effect was produced by The Mill, the post-production company that had worked on the tram crash. Collinson had worked with The Mill during his tenure as producer of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. The episode was directed by Tony Prescott, who had directed the 40th anniversary live episode in December 2000. Prescott also directed the two episodes surrounding this live episode to gain continuity. The live episode provided some challenges for dressing the set. The other episodes during the 50th anniversary week, including the tram crash, were filmed in October. As episodes are usually filmed weeks in advance, the tram had to be removed from sight for the filming of the Christmas and New Year episodes and then put back in place over the weekend 4–5 December, in time for rehearsals and transmission. Also, the cast and crew had to deal with extreme cold on the outdoor set during the days of rehearsals and broadcast as the UK was plunged into record levels of cold weather for the time of year. The producers reportedly banned the actors from drinking alcohol for 24 hours before the transmission to reduce the chances of accidents. Producers also banned the

sweepstake In the United States, a sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcast ...

that some cast members were running to bet on who would "fluff" their lines first.

''The Sun'' false story

On the day of transmission, tabloid newspaper ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' claimed that police were "throwing a ring of steel" around the filming.

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

issued a statement saying that they "have categorically not been made aware of any threat from Al-Qaeda or any other proscribed organisation." The statement said that Granada had approached the police to assist a private security firm to help ensure that the "live programme went ahead without outside interference", but "to reiterate there is no specific intelligence threat to ''Coronation Street'' or any such event" ''The Sun'' published a correction on 28 December. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' pointed out that the apology had been negotiated by the

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Ind ...

Characters and cast

Sue Nicholls Susan Frances Harmar Nicholls (born 23 November 1943) is an English actress. She is best known for her long-running role as Audrey Roberts in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1979–1982, 1984–present). Her other roles on British tele ...

as Audrey Roberts *

Malcolm Hebden Malcolm Hebden (born 21 December 1939) is an English retired actor. He is known for portraying the role of Norris Cole in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' on and off between 1994 and 1997, regularly from 1999 to 2017, and intermitten ...

Norris Cole Norris Gene Cole II (born October 13, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Osos de Manatí of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). A 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall point guard, he is a two-time NBA champion, winning back-to-b ...

Brooke Vincent Brooke Levi Vincent (born 4 June 1992) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Sophie Webster in the ITV soap-opera ''Coronation Street'', which she played from 2004 to 2019. Early life Vincent was born in Audenshaw, Greater Manch ...

Sophie Webster Sophie Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 November 1994. She was played by Ashleigh Middleton from 1994 until 1997 and by Emma Woodwar ...

Helen Flanagan Helen Joyce Flanagan (born 7 August 1990) is an English actress, model, and television personality. She is best known for playing the role of Rosie Webster in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000 to 2012; she returned to the rol ...

Rosie Webster Rosie Webster is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. The character has been played by two actresses: Emma Collinge from 1990 to 1999, and Helen Flanagan from 2000 to 2012, and from 2017 to 2018. Rosie is the e ...

* Andy Whyment as Kirk Sutherland * Alison King as Carla Connor * Samia Smith as Maria Connor * Jack P. Shepherd as David Platt *

Craig Gazey Craig Gazey (born 24 February 1982) is a British stage and television actor, best known for his portrayal of Graeme Proctor in the ITV soap ''Coronation Street''. Early life Gazey attended Our Lady's Roman Catholic High School in Royton, Old ...

Graeme Proctor Graeme Proctor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Craig Gazey, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 18 April 2008. The character is also noted for his e ...

* Sacha Parkinson as Sian Powers * Vicky Binns as

John Stape John Stape is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Graeme Hawley. He made his first on-screen appearance during the episode airing on 6 May 2007. The character departed on 3 June 2011 after four years on ...

as Fiz Stape * Barbara Knox as

* Antony Cotton as Sean Tully * Katy Cavanagh as Julie Carp * Ben Price as Nick Tilsley *

Vicky Entwistle Victoria Entwistle (born 15 September 1968) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Janice Battersby in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Early life Entwistle grew up in Accrington; her father owned a newsagen ...

Janice Battersby Janice Battersby (also Lee) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Vicky Entwistle, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 6 January 1997. On 2 August 2010, it was ...

* Jane Danson as Leanne Barlow *

as Peter Barlow * Julia Haworth as Claire Peacock *

Simon Gregson Simon Alan Gregory (born 2 October 1974), better known by his stage name, Simon Gregson, is a British actor from Manchester, England. He is best known for his portrayal of Steve McDonald (Coronation Street character), Steve McDonald in the long- ...

as Steve McDonald * Katherine Kelly as Becky McDonald *

Paula Lane Paula Lane (born 17 April 1986) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the roles of Kylie Platt in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2010–2016), and Ella Forster in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2024–2025). Early l ...

as Kylie Turner *

Kevin Webster Kevin Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Michael Le Vell, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 19 October 1983. Le Vell was suspended from the soa ...

* Alan Halsall as Tyrone Dobbs *

Julie Hesmondhalgh Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh ( ;) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her role as Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' between 1998 and 2014. For this role she won "Best Serial Drama Performance" at the 20 ...

as Hayley Cropper *

David Neilson David Neilson (born 13 March 1949) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as cafe owner Roy Cropper in the long running ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which he has played since 1995. Early life Neilson wa ...

as Roy Cropper *

Sue Cleaver Susan Owen (née Cleaver, born 2 September 1963) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Eileen Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which she played from 2000 to 2025. In 2024 Cleaver became a pan ...

as Eileen Grimshaw * Ryan Thomas as Jason Grimshaw * Patti Clare as Mary Taylor * Keith Duffy as Ciaran McCarthy * Craig Charles as Lloyd Mullaney * Michelle Keegan as Tina McIntyre * Steve Huison as Eddie Windass * Debbie Rush as Anna Windass *

Holly Quin-Ankrah Holly Quin-Ankrah (born 27 August 1987), known professionally as RAHH, is an actress and singer from Warrington, England. She began her acting career as a teenager, playing Karen Young in the long-running CBBC (TV channel), CBBC drama series ''G ...

as Cheryl Gray * Ian Puleston-Davies as Owen Armstrong * Georgia May Foote as Katy Armstrong * Sam Aston as Chesney Brown * Mikey North as Gary Windass *

Jimmi Harkishin James "Jimmi" Harkishin (born 19 March 1959) is an actor best known for his role as shopkeeper Dev Alahan in ''Coronation Street'', which he has played continuously since 10 November 1999. He also played Ranjit in the film '' Bhaji on the Beach ...

Dev Alahan Dev Alahan is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Jimmi Harkishin, the character's first appearance was broadcast on 10 November 1999. He i ...

* Shobna Gulati as Sunita Alahan * William Roache as Ken Barlow * Cherylee Houston as Izzy Armstrong * Will Thorp as Chris Gray * Steven Arnold as Ashley PeacockArnold makes an uncredited voiceover as Ashley.

Reception

The hour-long episode averaged 14.03 million viewers (52.1%), peaking at 14.9 million. It was the series' most-watched episode in seven years, and drew an additional 2.04 million viewers (14.1%) when repeated at 10.35 pm. Viewing figures did not surpass those of " ''EastEnders'' Live", a live episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

'' watched by 16.6 million viewers in February 2010. Following the live broadcast, the second part of a two-part documentary, ''Coronation Street: 50 Years, 50 Moments'', averaged 6.81 million viewers (27.2%). Live episodes are prone to mishaps and actors fluffing their lines. This episode was commended for how smoothly it seemed to have gone. Critic Mark Lawson commented that "the producers were clever in setting every scene among characters under stress or grief, so any flapping might have been taken as acting." The only mistake the press pointed out was the character Sally Webster being allowed into the wreckage of Dev's shop without a safety helmet. ''EastEnders'', ''Coronation Street'' biggest rival, supported the anniversary by having its character Dot Branning (

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the Inside ...

) reveal that she is a "massive ''Corrie'' fan", although another character,

Kat Moon Kat Slater (also Moon and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jessie Wallace. She was also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001 and Sumar-Elise Sandford in a flashback in 2018. Kat is the ...

(

Jessie Wallace Karen Jane Wallace (born 25 September 1971), known professionally as Jessie Wallace, is an English actress. She made her acting debut in the television police series ''The Bill'' and rose to prominence for her role as Kat Slater on the BBC so ...

) complained that she'd "rather watch a lot of dirty laundry going round". ''The Live episode'' along with all the ''50th Anniversary'' episodes and also included special features. which included: • The Making of Anniversary week,• The Filming of the tram crash,• The filming of the Live episode,• Tram Crash News Flash (dramatised ITV News),• Farewell Ashley,• Richard Arnold Blog ' What's Next for the Websters',• Ken Barlow – A Life on the Street,• 50 Years of Corrie Stunts hosted by Craig Charles. were released on DVD by ITV Home Entertainment as a two-disc set on 21 February 2011. ''The 50th Live episode'' was repeated on 11 December 2020 on

ITV3 ITV3 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9 pm, replacing Plus (British TV channel), Plus ...

; this will also be the first classic episode to be produced and re-transmitted in

1080i In high-definition television (HDTV) and video display technology, 1080i is a video display format with 1080 lines of vertical resolution and Interlaced video, interlaced scanning method. This format was once a standard in HDTV. It was particular ...

High Definition, as part of the 60th Anniversary celebrations of ''Coronation Street''.

Footnotes

References

External links

{{Coronation Street Coronation Street episodes 2010 British television episodes Anniversary television episodes Fiction set in 2010 Television episodes about human pregnancy Television episodes about murder Television episodes about weddings Television episodes set in the 2010s Television episodes set in hospitals