Coronation Street reveals major Weatherfield expansion

Coronation Street has today launched its new Weatherfield Precinct set, which will be seen on screen from 13th January next year.

Get ready to welcome Sweety Nuff dessert & milkshake shop, Gregory Pope Foundation Charity Shop, Rutlands bakery, Pound Outlet and Bargainanza Pawnbrokers as they join The Rovers Return, Roy’s Rolls, Speed Daal and Underworld as key locations in the Coronation Street universe.

The famous Weatherfield Precinct has been mentioned countless times since the show’s beginnings, with characters popping to the parade of shops on a regular basis over the years – however, this is the first time that the location, described as a “colourful and grittier area of Weatherfield,” will be seen on screen, as it gets a permanent home on the Corrie set.

The project to build the new set was first announced back in March. Nine months later, construction is now complete and this afternoon sees the new location revealed to the cast at the show’s 7.7 acre backlot in Trafford Park, Manchester.

The new set, which will be seen on screen from January 2023, sees a piazza of local shops and units, modelled on the many 1960s shopping precincts in towns and cities across the UK.

The team based their designs off hundreds of images of real life precincts, with a focus on ones in the local Manchester and Salford area, where the show is both set and filmed.

“I wanted there to be aspects of the Precinct that people from all walks of life identify with and recognise,” explains Rosie Mullins, Corrie’s Head of Design. “I wanted it to reflect how communities develop but aspects of them can also feel like stepping back in time.”

The businesses and shops were chosen to accurately represent those found at shopping centres across the UK, and include a charity shop, a dessert shop, a pawnbrokers and a community recycling centre.

Above the shops are a number of maisonettes, accessed by a staircase and balcony. In front of the new shops and flats is a children’s park and play area, giving an additional location where the cast and crew can film away from the cobbles.

While the new set may be a façade, the balcony is real and can be used for filming. The charity shop will also have an interior set, and will be one of the first sets to provide a new workplace for residents when Roy Cropper and Evelyn Plumber volunteer their services in the new year.

There are also a number of alleys, dubbed a “rogues’ gallery” by producer Iain MacLeod, where dodgy characters can get up to “shady business in the ginnels.”

At midday today, cast including Jack P Shepherd (David Platt), Sally Dynevor (Sally Metcalfe), Antony Cotton (Sean Tully), Jimmi Harkishin (Dev Alahan), Harriet Bibby (Summer Spellman) and Daniel Brocklebank (Billy Mayhew) officially declared Weatherfield Precinct open for business.

Also in attendance were Channique Sterling-Brown (Dee-Dee Bailey), Elle Mulvaney (Amy Barlow), Tanisha Gorey (Asha Alahan), James Craven (Aaron Sandford) and Colson Smith (Craig Tinker).

This marks the first major extension to the Coronation Street set since the addition of Victoria Street back in 2018, which introduced us to Speed Daal, the Weatherfield North tram stop, and the police station.

Producer Iain MacLeod said: “Hats off to our design and construction teams who have conjured a totally convincing new precinct for our drama! They took their inspiration from Salford’s many real-world, late 20th century shopping areas and what they have created is a brilliant, characterful space to tell a diverse range of stories.

“Expect to see teens hanging out at the dessert shop, families enjoying the play area and, after dark, a rogues’ gallery, up to shady business in the ginnels. I am really excited by the arrival on screen of this much discussed but never seen corner of the Weatherfield universe.”

Building work on the new exterior set began 9 months ago, and the first scenes are set to be filmed next week, before airing a month later on 13th January.

Head of Design Rosie Mullins explained how she and her team brought the new location to life:

“In February 2021 I set about the first pencil drawings for a very exciting new exterior build – Weatherfield Precinct. We have often heard about this precinct and although we have filmed over the years at a range of shopping locations, we had never established our own Weatherfield Precinct.

“It had always intrigued me – what would it look like and who would we find there? The opportunity to bring to life a colourful and grittier area of Weatherfield was so exciting!

“I wanted there to be aspects of the Precinct that people from all walks of life identify with and recognise. I wanted it to reflect how communities develop but aspects of them can also feel like stepping back in time.

“This build has been one of the most enjoyable builds that we have undertaken and showcases the many behind-the-scenes talents that the programme has to offer. I am incredibly proud of the detail, the quality of the build and for what it offers for future storytelling for the show. I am also so very proud of how it was brought to life by our in-house talented Design Team.”

The Corrie team were also keen to showcase the new set’s eco credentials. Environmentally sourced timber was used throughout the build, and LED lights are used for much of the lighting. The community recycling area was painted using leftover tins of paint from previous sets, and will be used to promote recycling on-screen.

The new staircase leading to the maisonettes was from the original Underworld set, reclad in brick slips, while all of the food seen in the bakery window are props made by in-house Prop Maker Lauren Heakin, reducing food waste.

The new Weatherfield Precinct will be seen on screen from 13th January 2023.