Coronation Street

Coronation Street
GenreSoap opera
Created byTony Warren
Starring
Theme music composerEric Spear
Opening theme"Coronation Street Theme"
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes12,418
Production
Producers
  • Various
  • Verity MacLeod and Kate Brooks
Production locations
Camera setupMultiple-camera
Running time30–60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkITV
Release9 December 1960 (1960-12-09) –
present
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Coronation Street (colloquially referred to as Corrie) is a British television soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960.[2] The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Greater Manchester. The location was itself based on Salford, the hometown of the show's first screenwriter and creator.[3]

Originally broadcast twice weekly, the series began airing six times a week in 2017.[4] The programme was conceived by scriptwriter Tony Warren.[5] Warren's initial proposal was rejected by the station's founder Sidney Bernstein, but he was persuaded by producer Harry Elton to produce the programme for 13 pilot episodes. The show has since become a significant part of British culture.[6]

Coronation Street is currently produced by Granada's successor, ITV Studios, at MediaCityUK and shown in all ITV regions, as well as internationally. In 2010, upon its 50th anniversary, the series was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's longest-running television soap opera.[7][8] Initially influenced by the conventions of kitchen-sink realism, Coronation Street is noted for its depiction of a down-to-earth, working-class community, combined with light-hearted humour and strong characters.[9] The show currently averages around five million viewers per episode.[10] The show premiered its 10,000th episode on 7 February 2020,[11] and celebrated its 60th anniversary later that year.[12]

  1. ^ "ITV Studios Continuing Drama".
  2. ^ Jones, Judith. "Coronation Street". Museum TV. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  3. ^ Brooks-Pollock, Tom (11 March 2014). "Ten things Manchester gets the credit for when really it should be Salford". men. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Coronation Street to air six times a week from next year". ITV News. 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  5. ^ "TV review: The Road to Coronation Street". The Guardian. 17 September 2010. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  6. ^ Sulway, Verity (30 December 2020). "Bill Roache says Corrie writer got ideas for character names from gravestones". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Coronation Street recognised as longest running soap". BBC. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. ^ Hemley, Matthew (24 September 2010). "Coronation Street breaks two world records". The Stage. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  9. ^ Little, Daran (1998). The Women of Coronation Street, Boxtree. ISBN 0-7522-2443-3, p. 6
  10. ^ "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Coronation Street to air 10,000th episode". ITV Press Centre. 27 January 2020. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  12. ^ "All we know about the Coronation Street anniversary week and what it means for the residents". metro.co.uk. 16 November 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.