20 facts you might not know about Coronation Street as soap turns 60
It’s a rather momentous week for Coronation Street, as the long-running serial drama celebrates its 60th anniversary.
The ITV soap commenced all the way back on December 9, 1960, and — bar a short period off the air in 1979 — it has kept the nation entertained with compelling stories, hard-hitting drama and superb characters for six decades.
A huge week of events is set to unfold on the cobbles in order to mark the milestone, but in the meantime, we’re taking a look back at some facts that you might not know about the national institution that is Coronation Street.
20 facts you might not know about Coronation Street
1. There have been 146 deaths (including 12 suicides, 24 murders, add onto that 13 pets!) .
2. 57 births (including one in a taxi, one in a lift, one in a cable car, three in the Rovers, one on a beach and one in the middle of the Nativity Play!).
3. 131 weddings (although 36 did not go ahead/were not legal), with 8 pregnant brides and 5 bigamists (Arnold, Eve, Peter, Beth, Tim).
4. 66 Rovers barmaids, 32 Rovers barmen, 12 Rovers licensees.
5. 28 women in Ken Barlow’s life.
5. 15 proposals for Rita.
6. 75 pets.
7. 1 train crash, 1 coach crash, 1 lorry crash, 1 tram crash, 1 minibus crash, 1 house collapse, 3 cars driven into the canal and 5 factory fires.
8. 26 trips to Blackpool.
9. 144 writers, 218 directors, 34 producers.
10. 4 royal visits.
11. 7 foreign location shoots.
12. 9 opening title sequences.
13. 5 spin-off video/DVD releases.
14. Sold to 135 countries including; the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa.
15. One of the show’s biggest fan bases outside of the UK is in Canada where nearly 600,000 viewers tune in for every episode!
16. Winner of 10 BAFTAs, 27 National Television Awards and 116 British Soap Awards.
17. Over 5000 actors have appeared on the show.
18. Jean Alexander — aka Hilda Ogden — was the first soap opera performer to receive a BAFTA nomination.
19. After being broadcast with an aspect ratio of 4:3 since its debut in 1960, the first widescreen episode transmitted in 2002.
20. The first high definition episode was filmed in 2010.
Source: Read Full Article