Coronation Street builds new Weatherfield Precinct set
The ITV soap has unveiled plans for a new exterior set.
ITV has announced grand new plans for the Coronation Street set, in the form of a Weatherfield precinct. The news comes during the same week that the show makes a permanent move to an 8pm timeslot.
The set will feature a two-storey build with maisonettes, staircase and a balcony which leads to properties, shops and a piazza. The aim is to enhance the existing set in Trafford, near Manchester, which has been the show's location since 2014.
The last time Corrie embarked on a building development of such a large scale was in 2018. This saw the opening of the much-used Victoria Gardens set, along with the Speed Daal restaurant, Trim Up North salon and the Tram stop, as well as the builder's yard and the funeral parlour.
Production designer Rosie Mullins-Hoyle is behind this exciting new development, and we're told construction will begin this week and will take up to six months. She said: "We are extremely excited to be starting to build Weatherfield Precinct this week after a year of technical drawings, model making, visualising and planning.
"An incredible amount of research has been carried out focussing on 1960s local architecture and we are striving to create an authentic area of Weatherfield with a grittier vibe to the existing street that we know and love."
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Mullins-Hoyle also credits her fellow team members who are heavily involved in the project.
"The build is being led by myself and Construction Manager Keith Eccleston and is a fantastic opportunity to use some of the amazing behind the scene talents we have on the show with bespoke joinery, scenic art work, graphic design and set dressing skills all being involved."
The new addition could be about to pave the way for new horizons for a variety of characters, she added. "I cannot wait to meet the characters that may call it home and see the businesses that will be created and the storytelling potential of an old but new part of Weatherfield."
Viewers will recall hearing the local teens of Corrie heading off to the precinct for fun - or in order to get up to mischief! But until now, we've never actually seen them there; instead we could only imagine our own local shopping centre and wonder how similar it would be in the minds eye of the soap's producers.
It's safe to say it sounds like Corrie's own creation will be much more interesting than anywhere we frequent, though!
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Coronation Street's Executive Producer Iain MacLeod shared his own excitement for the new plans. "The fabled Weatherfield Precinct has been much discussed, but little seen on the show in our 61 years, and I am really excited to be expanding the Coronation Street universe.
He added: "The plans for the shopping area are drawn directly from the real-world Salford environs that inspired the show’s creator Tony Warren and exemplify the authenticity and ambition we still prize as we move to hour-long episodes this week."
Head of ITV and continuing drama John Whiston also spoke of the project, saying: "As we (hopefully) come out of COVID and start to stretch our dramatic legs again, it will be great to be able to play exciting new stories against a brand new backdrop.
"And it's a testament to the confidence ITV has in the show that it is investing so much in our future. Mind you, I guess it won't be long before we blow it up, burn it down or crash a tram into it."
On that note, let's hope the residents of Weatherfield get the chance to explore their new surroundings before Corrie delivers another of their notorious explosive storylines!
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