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Coronation Street filming location: A virtual tour of the soap’s set and sites to mark its 60th anniversary

Coronation street has become part of the fabric of modern, post-industrial manchester alongside the hacienda, the salford lads club and the etihad.

It was was first named Florizel Street. The programme went on to launch a leopard-print-clad Bet Lynch and Hilda Ogden’s rollers upon the TV-watching public. It even started a fictional campaign to “Free the Weatherfield One”. For me, it provided a kitchen-sink-drama backdrop to my childhood in the Northwest of England. That’s why I’ll be celebrating as Coronation Street marks 60 years of life on the cobbled streets of Weatherfield on 9 December.

Indeed, I had planned to join the pilgrimage of Corrie devotees to Manchester to walk in the footsteps of the stars of Britain’s longest-running soap opera. But lockdown and local tier-three restrictions intervened. Coronation Street tours at the new Granada TV studios are currently on hold and the coachloads of Corrie -loving Canadians, the most devoted audience outside Britain, will miss the big day. The cult of Corrie lives on, however. I’m joining a virtual tour, hosted by a Manchester tour guide, to welcome the Corrie cognoscenti to the city.

“ Corrie was a breath of fresh air when it first aired on 9 December, 1960,” says tour guide Sue McCarthy as I join a Zoom call for a walk-through of the tour. “For the first time, working-class people could see their lives reflected back to them on television.”

“Even now, it still also has a sense of dry, northern humour,” adds Sue, who weaves a virtual journey around modern-day Manchester via maps and photos while sharing insider nuggets of Corrie history and titbits of fan-forum anecdotes. “The little one-liners still make me laugh out loud.”

The tour starts on the Salford side of the River Irwell at St Clement’s Drive, the site of the former Archie Street before it was demolished in the early Seventies. The programme was the brainchild of Salford-born Tony Warren, a young screenwriter who pitched the idea to Granada TV to reflect Manchester’s post-war urban renaissance, and Archie Street provided the prototype close-knit community.

Coronation Street at 60: comedy, tragedy, lingerie – happy birthday to the greatest show on television

Cottonopolis beginnings

We move onto the Castlefield area of Manchester, where the canals and railways powered the city’s cotton mills – built on slave grown-cotton and earning it the moniker of Cottonopolis. This area of the city was also home to the original Granada Studios, where some early episodes were shot indoors, the famous street cobbles painted onto the studio floor, explains Sue. Nearby the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) has a few items of Corrie memorabilia, including a 40th anniversary Monopoly set and a memorial musical clock, although the Connecting Manchester gallery is temporarily closed for refurbishment.

Next up is Manchester’s Beetham Tower, built in 2006 after the city hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Home to the Hilton Manchester Deansgate hotel, it now features in the opening credits of the series and the hotel’s top-floor Cloud 23 skybar does, explains Sue, a roaring trade in Ena Sparkles cocktails, named after the character Ena Sharples with a characteristic spider-web hairnet. Heading across the city centre, the Midland Hotel has featured several times on screen, notably as the backdrop to Stan and Hilda Ogden’s second honeymoon in 1977. The actress Jean Alexander, who played Hilda Ogden, would, I learn, eat fish and chips every Friday evening in the Grade II-listed dining room of the hotel’s signature restaurant, The French.

The Street has a long history of strong female characters, from femme fatale Elsie Tanner to resident gossip Vera Duckworth. However, Hilda remains the soap’s queen, her leaving party from 1987 still one of the show’s most-watched episodes, with 27m viewers. “Many of those classic female characters were based on Tony Warren’s extended family,” explains Sue. “I admire the feisty female spirit that has been a trademark of the show throughout the years,” she adds.

MediaCityUK and the march of progress

Salford’s MediaCityUK complex is where the series is now filmed on an expanded set, close to the angular design of the Imperial War Museum North. In addition to recreating The Rovers Return pub and Weatherfield Police Station, the purpose-built park for exterior scenes has a poignant nod to a Corrie super fan — a plaque remembers Corrie blogger Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017. But not all the Corrie landmarks have survived the steady march of progress. The Old Grapes, the pub formerly co-owned by Liz Dawn, the actress who played Vera Duckworth, has closed down.

We finish in the suburb of Worlsey, where the show’s cornerstone character, Ken Barlow, conducted an affair on a canal boat with the character Martha Fraser, played by Stephanie Beacham, in 2009. Barlow, played by William Roach, appeared in the first episode of the series and is still there some 10,000 episodes later as the show’s moral compass and an early example of social mobility amid changing times. The 1981 wedding of Ken and Deirdre Barlow recorded more viewers than the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

Coronation Street has become part of the fabric of modern, post-industrial Manchester alongside The Hacienda, the Salford Lads Club and the Etihad Stadium. The city may have changed irrevocably since the gritty, monochrome days of the early Sixties, but The Street continues to reflect the public mood, a soap-opera balm for the troubled, post-lockdown soul, notching up some 8 million viewers per night under lockdown.

Wednesday’s episode will mark the diamond anniversary with a gentler, community-against-adversity storyline compared to some recent tales of murder, suicide and dramatic tram crashes.

“The show offered a warts-and-all depiction of Manchester life in those early days but now it feels more like escapism,” says Sue, who is planning a series of in-situ walking tours for next year, as restrictions ease.

“Manchester isn’t the same place these days, and nor are we the same people as viewers, but Coronation Street moves with the times. Maybe,” she adds, “that’s the enduring appeal.”

Take the tour Tickets for the Virtual Manchester Tour, Coronation Street at 60 , cost £7-£11. The 90-minute tour takes place on Wednesday 9 December at 7pm. It is hoped that walking tours of the Granada set will resume next year, itv.com/coronationstreettour More information tourmanchester.co.uk marketingmanchester.com

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Where is Coronation Street filmed and can you visit the famous set?

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Coronation Street is the longest running television soap opera in the world – having aired over 11,200 episodes across the last 63 years, and serving up plenty of high drama during that time!

The ITV soap focusses on the lives and loves of the residents of Weatherfield, who mostly live on the eponymous Coronation Street and the surrounding area.

Over the years we’ve seen everything from train to tram crashes, explosions, murders, kidnappings, car crashes, robberies and shootings… the list is endless. One thing Corrie is best known for is its ability to seamlessly weave comedy through its tragedy.

It should be no surprise to learn that there are plenty of fans out there who’d love the opportunity to visit Weatherfield for themselves, or perhaps even stop off for a pint in the Rovers.

The question is – just where is the show filmed, where is it set, and can the public visit?

Where is Coronation Street filmed?

For the last 10 years, Coronation Street has been filmed at the show’s purpose-built production base in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester.

The 7.7 acre site is composed of six studios, where the show’s interior scenes are filmed, an ever-growing ‘backlot’ exterior set, and two production hubs which are for office use, dressing rooms, a mail room, props store, costume and makeup storage – and most importantly, the staff canteen!

There’s also a dedicated visitor experience (more on that later).

Before 54,000 cobbles were laid down at the new site, which is nearby to the MediaCity development, home of BBC and ITV in the North, the show was filmed for 53 years at the former Granada Studios in the Castlefield district of Manchester City Centre.

Corrie outgrew Granada’s facilities quite quickly. For the first eight years on air, the entirety of it was filmed inside of their second smallest studio, including all exterior scenes.

The houses were merely wooden façades, which were later erected outside in a yard in 1968. If you’ve ever visited Manchester before, you’ll know that the weather isn’t great – and they had to rebuild the houses in brick.

At this point, the viaduct (now home to the famous Bistro) was authentic, albeit unused. By 1982, they rebuilt the set again on a much grander scale, this time including Rosamund Street.

Where is Coronation Street based?

In 1995, Coronation Street creator Tony Warren said that the infamous street is ‘four miles in any one direction from Manchester .’

When planning the show before it hit our screens, he and designer Denis Parkin visited the Ordsall area of Salford and based the set design on the long-demolished Archie Street.

In more recent years, we’ve seen real life Salford locations replaced with fictional counterparts – for example, Salford Quays became Weatherfield Quays.

Some of the new Manchester @BeeNetwork signage now on the set of #Corrie 👀 pic.twitter.com/VCmTaQNgl1 — Shaun (@ShaunInBrum) April 29, 2024

Weatherfield has its own council, hospital and police force, yet Salford City Council bins adorn its set, and even the bus stop maps show it as part of the wider city.

A recent post on X/Twitter from a Corrie tour guide show the fictional tram stop, on Victoria Street, as being near to the main campus of Salford University.

Is the Granada Studios Tour still operative?

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3iP_5AoXen/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

In February, Peter Ash, who plays Paul Foreman, shared a sweet throwback pic of him visiting the Street with family in the late 80s .

Due to the popularity of their programmes, Granada Television launched their very own studios tour in 1988, which allowed fans to walk the hallowed cobbles. There was a variety of other attractions on site, including a New York themed street, a recreation of Downing Street and a 3D cinema.

It was an epic day out, with the star attraction being able to sup a pint of Newton and Ridley best bitter in a licensed replica of the Rovers Return. Using a chroma-key (green screen) back drop, you could also film your very own scene with Betty Turpin (Betty Driver) and Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs).

By 1999, following a disastrous installation of Skytrak, the world’s first flying roller coaster that very quickly was put out of operation, and amid falling visitor numbers, it was decided to close the GST.

This allowed ITV to expand the Coronation Street set again to include Victoria Street, and for the next fifteen years it was impossible to snap a selfie outside of The Kabin or pose in front of the factory.

However, with the soap relocating in 2014, it was decided to throw open the doors for one last hurrah before the studios were redeveloped.

Guests who visited prior to closure in December 2015 could tour dressing rooms, see famous props and costumes from across the years and walk around a studio, which featured a number of interior sets.

One of these was of course, the pub, and once again superfans could pretend to pull a pint before walking out onto the backlot set and exploring it to their heart’s content.

Can I visit the current Coronation Street studios?

You’re in luck – yes! As I mentioned earlier, a dedicated visitor experience has been built on site at the current studios, and is open to guests 7 days a week.

Be warned though, there are 3 separate experiences which vary in price, and in what you can see on the day. It’s also a completely different experience to the Granada Studios Tour, so if you popped by in the 90s or 10 years ago, you might want to check it out again.

Not only that, but last year the experience grew to include a cinema and exhibition.

Coronation Street Experience ticket differences

• £7.50 weekday experience: This includes access to the cinema and exhibition floor, where you can pose behind the bar of the Rovers Return and see costumes and props. There is also a gift shop and café on site.
• £35 to £38 weekend tour and experience: All of the above is included in this ticket, but you also get a guided tour of the show’s exterior backlot set, which isn’t open to visitors during the week.
• £55 weekend star tour and experience: If you fancy splashing the cash, you can do all of the above, plus meet a member of cast at the end of your tour for a selfie and an autograph.

If you plan on having a nosey at the set on a weekday, you’ll find that access to the backlot is off limits due to filming commitments. However, you can still watch a highlights reel of classic moments, plus marvel at old props and costumes from years gone by.

There’s also replicas of the Rovers Return, Roy’s Rolls and No. 9 Coronation Street, home to the Dobbs family.

Whilst no real beer will come out of the taps as you pretend to pull a pint, as the former duty manager of the experience, I can confirm that this is an avenue that operators Continuum Attractions have planned to explore for quite some time – so keep an eye out.

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Weekend visitors can expect all of the above, but this time see the entirety of the outdoor set.

Don’t expect to be able to free roam for the entirety of your 90 minute walk as you’re guided in groups of up to 50 by an expert tour guide (and they really are blooming fabulous). You’ll still get plenty of time for your pictures and to nosey through letterboxes though and some extra minutes on Coronation Street itself.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7Wbv77IywN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

It should also be noted that the tours do not include access to the six interior studios, but some of the external buildings, such as Prima Doner, are actually used for filming and are open for visitors.

Find out more

Tickets can be pre-booked on the Coronation Street Experience website .

Remember what I said about the Manchester rain? You should probably be prepared, weather wise, for things to change in a heartbeat. You’ll be on your feet for quite a long time, and over tough cobblestones, so remember to dress appropriately.

The final option, if you fancy adding a bit of showbiz sparkle to your weekends, are the star tours. You’ll get the full works for £55, plus a short meet and greet at the end with one of the cast members, who will pose for a photo and sign an autograph.

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us  [email protected]  – we’d love to hear from you.

Join the community by leaving a comment below and  stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage .

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New Google Street View allows Coronation Street fans to explore Weatherfield on the internet

By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 04:55 EDT, 3 December 2009

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People can now enjoy stunning views of some of the country's most famous locations - including the Coronation Street set - from the comfort of their homes.

Google's Street View cars have created virtual tours of attractions including London's Kew Gardens, Stonehenge in Wiltshire and the set of ITV1 soap Coronation Street in Manchester.

Bosses at the show allowed the Street View cars to take 360 degree panoramic views of the Weatherfield cobbles to enable fans to look at the show's Manchester set on the internet.

Fans can now see shots of the Coronation Street set, including the Rovers Return Inn, Rita's Kabin and Kevin Webster's garage (far right of bottom picture), on Google Street View

The imagery has been made available for people to explore on Google Street View for the first time.

Viewers are now able to see clear shots of some of the programme's most iconic locations including the Rovers Return, Rita's Kabin and Roy's Rolls.

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A Coronation Street insider said: 'It's one of the most well known streets in the country, despite being fictional, so people should be able to know what it looks like when they go on the internet.

'Fans of the show can now see Weatherfield's every nook and cranny - it's a real coup.'

Prince Charles and Tony Blair are among the famous faces who have enjoyed a drink in the Rovers Return

An ITV spokesman added: 'Thanks to Street View, fans will be able to have a good nose around the set in a way that would have been unimaginable almost 50 years ago when the show first aired.'

The pictures captured by the car on set were processed and edited together last July to create a 360 degree view of the Street, which then took five months to be made available via the Google Maps service.

Other locations which feature in the virtual tours of attractions include the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Angel of the North in Gateshead, Cornwall's Eden Project, Warwick Castle and Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.

Viewers will be able to explore other locations, such as the Angel of the North in Newcastle, through the new Google Street View

Ed Parsons, Google's geospatial technologist, said: 'Whether planning a visit, reminiscing about a recent trip or simply learning about the history of Britain, we hope these locations will be given a boost by being the first special collections to be made available on Street View in the UK.'

Also included is a virtual tour of the Lotus test track in Norfolk.

Tourism chiefs said the online tours could attract more visitors to the UK.

'It's fantastic that Google users from all over the world will be able to use Street View to virtually visit some of Britain's superb visitor attractions, it's a great way to inspire people to explore Britain,' a VisitBritain spokesman said.

Google said it had protected people's privacy by applying 'automatic face-blurring and licence plate blurring' to the images.

Share or comment on this article: New Google Street View allows Coronation Street fans to explore Weatherfield on the internet

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Coronation Street launches new seven-days-a-week visitor experience

Get down to the cobbles from June 10.

Manchester Evening News reports that fans will be able to visit the 'Coronation Street Experience' any day of the week instead of solely on weekends.

Replica sets provide soap lovers with the opportunity to pose inside hot properties like Roy's Rolls and The Rovers Return, while a brand-new visitor centre at the ITV studios houses historic Corrie props, costumes and souvenirs.

Related: Coronation Street mocked by Aldi after Dev's shop blunder

Neil Currie, guest experience manager, said in a statement: "We know that fans of Coronation Street want to get up close to some of the props and sets that they see on screen, be it Deirdre's infamous glasses, or inside The Rovers Return .

"The new exhibition gives us the chance to not only extend the weekend tour experience as it will be included for every visitor. It will also be open 7-days-a-week, giving everybody the opportunity to take a seat in Roy's Rolls or stand behind the bar at The Rovers and see iconic costumes and props from over 60 years of drama.

"Having this kind of exhibition floor also gives us the chance to constantly update and change things alongside the programme's on-air stories. Once a storyline has played out on your TV screen, we'll be updating the props and costumes along the way."

Related: Coronation Street confirms special five-nights schedule for Britain's Got Talent week

Is this right up your (cobbled) street?

For the exhibition, adult tickets cost £7.50, while both children and students can gain entry for £6.

The exhibition and tour is £35 per adult and £26 for children/students.

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

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Coronation Street The Tour is now officially open! Here are some snaps to whet your appetite...

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