Don’t be fooled by the relaxing theme tune and nostalgic opening credits, Coronation Street has quite a dark history.
Throughout its 60-year history, the ITV soap has covered a number of bone-chilling storylines including several serial killers, gruesome deaths, terrifying threats and most recently the horrific acid attack.
Most recently, the long-running programme was crowned the most crime-ridden soap on the box, raking in an impressive 467 serious crimes, including 36 murders.
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As Stephen Reid’s vile crimes begin to unravel on the Cobbles, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside the twisted history behind the nation’s favourite soap.
(Image: ITV)
Faces like Roy Cropper, Rita Sullivan and Gail Platt have become part of the furniture in living rooms up and down the country.
The long-running characters have impressively survived gas explosions, tram crashes and more than 10,0000 episodes of the soap.
But when the show was first pitched, telly boss Tony Warren confessed he got the names for the household names for his iconic characters from gravestones of a nearby cemetery.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
ITV legend Bill Roache – who has portrayed Ken Barlow on the show since its very first episode on December 9,1960 – revealed the show’s creator used to walk around graveyards looking for inspiration for his now famous characters.
He recalled: “I remember him telling me when he needed family names, he used to walk around the graveyards to get the names from there.
“But he was always bubbling over with ideas and energy. He was just a lovely man to be with.”
(Image: Getty)
When it came to building the iconic set, Warren toured all over Salford to find the perfectly cobbled road and he eventually found it in Archie Street, in Ordsall.
And the street itself had scandals and tragedies which would be perfect storylines for any soap opera on the show.
In 1886, four-year-old Albert Edward Lowe, who lived at 18 Archie Street, accidentally drowned in the River Irwell after he lost his footing playing on the banks at the side of the river.
(Image: Getty)
Just a few years later in 1890, another young resident of Archie Street died in very similar circumstances. Edward Amos Pomphrey, aged 7, also accidentally drowned in the Irwell.
Many decades later, famous footballer Eddie Coleman, who was born and raised at 9 Archie Street, tragically died at the age of 21 in the 1958 ‘Bust Babes’ Munich Air Disaster.
He was known as the life and soul of the party and would often host wild Saturday nights at 9 Archie Street with his Manchester United teammates gathering in his parents’ front parlour for a beer from the off-licence.
(Image: ITV)
More than 60-years later, the soap has been titled the most violent soap on TV, with psychotic builder Pat Phelan confirmed as the biggest villain in soap history.
His 22 crimes included four murders, extortion and rape – which in the real world could have earned him up to 278 years behind bars.
Only time will tell if Stephen Reid will steal his crown as the most sadistic serial killer, with the Canadian successfully evading police for his two previous murders.
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV1 and ITVX
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
