Rovers Return Inn


The Rovers Return Inn, also known simply as the Rovers, is a fictional public house in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street.
The Rovers Return occupies a corner of the fictional Coronation Street and Rosamund Street set location in the show, set in the fictional Lancashire town of Weatherfield. The pub was constructed by the fictional brewery Newton and Ridley.
The name comes from the Ye Olde Rovers Return in Withy Grove, Manchester, a 14th-century building that operated as a licensed public house but ceased to be so in 1924 and was demolished in 1958.
The fictional pub has had three in-universe layouts. The original layout generally consisted of the style of a public bar. The fictional pub was later destroyed after a fire, caused by character Jack Duckworth. Later, the original layout was replaced by a single bar, until once again, being destroyed by a fire.

History

The Rover's Return Inn opened in 1902 on the newly built Coronation Street. It was originally to be called The Coronation, but the brewery was forced to change the name as the go-ahead had already been given for the street to be named Coronation Street. When Lieutenant Philip Ridley returned from active service in the Boer War, the pub was named in his honour.
Originally, the pub was divided into three separate bars: the public bar, the snug, and the select. As late as 1960, the ruling in the pub was that ladies were not allowed to remain at the bar after being served. These archaic rules were dropped soon afterwards. When the pub was damaged by an accidental fire in 1986, the three bars were knocked into one large room.
The living quarters downstairs bear no resemblance to the exterior set of the pub. In reality, the living room would be in the middle of the street at the side of the pub, outside the medical centre.
Since 2008, viewers have seen scenes in a kitchen/dining room in the upstairs of the pub, although no other characters had ever used or referred to this room previously. A mock-up of the snug was a feature of the Granada Studios Tour.
The set's exterior doors are narrower than the doors on the interior set. This has always been the case as the exterior set is reduced in scale.
Image:Rovers Revamp 3.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The Rovers before and after with the new wallpaper, floor and soft furnishings Image:Newrovers.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Rovers in late 2008, with new wallpaper similar to the original style. Shown are Jason Grimshaw, Steve McDonald, Lloyd Mullaney, Dev Alahan and Kirk Sutherland mourning Liam Connor, killed in a hit and run planned by Tony Gordon. In early 2008, the Rovers Return was redecorated, giving it a fresh look more than 20 years after the refurbishment that followed the fire of 1986. It received new wallpaper, re-upholstered seating, new flooring, and new light fittings. A smoking shelter was built, reflecting the recent introduction of a national ban on smoking in enclosed public places, which is accessed by a new door in the main pub area.
Since that makeover in February 2008, the wallpaper was changed again in October 2008, making its on-screen debut on 17 October 2008. The producers were dissatisfied with the choice of wallpaper in February 2008. The new wallpaper is similar to the wallpaper used after the 1986 fire, which hung in The Rovers for 22 years.
Image:ROVERSREVAMP2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Rovers before and after with the new taps, pumps at the bar and new curtainsThe change of décor in February 2008 was a storyline in the show, in which Liz McDonald's husband Vernon Tomlin hired friends to redecorate. The new look of The Rovers in October 2008 was not explained in the story. A few weeks later, Emily Bishop commented to Jed Stone that the local pub had "recently" been redecorated.

Events

The fictional timeline proceeds as follows:
  • 13 May 1964: Martha Longhurst dies after suffering a heart attack in the snug of The Rovers.
  • 7 March 1979: A lorry crashes into The Rovers Return, injuring several people including Alf Roberts, Mike Baldwin and Betty Turpin. Deirdre Langton panics because she left a young Tracy sitting outside in her pram, but it emerges that she was kidnapped by Sally Norton.
  • 18 June 1986: A faulty electricity box starts a fire in the pub, and the whole interior explodes. Bet Lynch is asleep upstairs, but is eventually rescued by Kevin Webster.
  • 12 February 1993: Outside the pub, Lisa Duckworth is run over by a speeding motorist while crossing the road. She is taken to hospital, but never regains consciousness and is pronounced dead a few days later.
  • 13 April 2001: Toyah Battersby is raped in the alleyway beside The Rovers by an unseen assailant who is later revealed to be Phil Simmonds.
  • 10 April 2005: Tracy Barlow's biological father Ray Langton dies of stomach cancer during a party to celebrate the second wedding of his ex-wife Deirdre Rachid to Ken Barlow.
  • 22 February 2008: Violet Wilson gives birth to her son Dylan assisted by Marcus Dent.
  • 23 January 2012: During the wedding reception of Tracy Barlow and Steve McDonald, Steve's ex-wife Becky reveals that Tracy suffered a miscarriage the day before she blamed Becky for the miscarriage, thus meaning that Tracy was lying. Steve subsequently leaves Tracy.
  • 9 September 2012: Kirsty Soames goes into labour after a fight with barmaid Tina McIntyre. She later gives birth to her daughter Ruby Dobbs in the back room.
  • 18 March 2013: In an attempt to frame Jason Grimshaw for arson, Karl Munro sets fire to The Rovers, leaving Stella Price and Sunita Alahan hospitalised, and killing Toni Griffiths and later Sunita.
  • 26 May 2013: After telling Izzy Armstrong that Gary Windass had made a pass at her, Tina McIntyre goes into labour with their child two months early.
  • 14 October 2013: After accusing barmaid Tina McIntyre of having an affair with her husband David, Kylie Platt attacks her in The Rovers, leading to an explosive catfight. During the fight, Liz McDonald returns to Coronation Street and announces that she is now co-owner of The Rovers.
  • 25 December 2013: A drunken Kylie Platt makes a pass at Rob Donovan and ends up brawling with Tina McIntyre yet again outside of The Rovers.
  • 22 January 2014: Anna Windass walks into The Rovers and reveals the news of Hayley Cropper's death to the regulars.
  • 27 May 2014: Peter Barlow tells his wife Carla Connor about his affair with Tina McIntyre in the backroom. She storms into the pub, shouting that she wants to "kill" Tina. When Tina is later attacked and dies, Carla becomes the prime suspect.
  • 13 May 2015: Liz McDonald is attacked by two thugs, but she is unaware that her partner Tony Stewart arranged the horrific attack.
  • 21 October 2016: Following David Platt's horrific car accident on the street, an explosion caused by leaking petrol rips through the street and blows in The Rovers' windows, which also leaves Michelle Connor in a state of shock.
  • 15 September 2017: Rita Tanner publicly collapses at Jenny Bradley and Eva Price's joint hen party, as a result of a brain tumour.
  • 25 December 2019: Derek Milligan storms into the pub armed with a shotgun and holds many residents hostage, including Gary Windass, Ali Neeson, Johnny Connor, Jenny Connor, Rita Tanner, Izzy Armstrong, Fiz Stape, Tyrone Dobbs, Seb Franklin, Tracy McDonald, Liz McDonald, Steve McDonald and Emma Brooker. He later fights with Gary and Ali, before shooting outside to show the locals that the gun is in fact loaded, however the bullet hits Robert Preston, who is about to enter the pub. Robert later dies in hospital from the shooting.
  • 27 March 2023: As she and Ryan Connor prepare to leave the pub to go to her wedding to Daniel Osbourne, Daisy Midgeley is confronted by her stalker Justin Rutherford, who throws a bottle of sulphuric acid at her. Ryan comes to Daisy's defence and jumps in front of her and gets most of the acid in his face and upper body whilst Daisy gets some on her chest. Justin flees the scene but is later arrested after Daisy confronts him in Weatherfield General's car park and alerts the police.
  • 29 March 2024: Glenda Shuttleworth is left alone to run a speed dating night in the pub after Jenny and Daisy make plans that coincide with the night. She meets a man who she jokingly complains to about being left alone. Later that night, Glenda closes the pub as a group of masked men enter and attack her whilst looting the pub.

    Employees

Current staff

Previous staff

Incidents

Martha's death (1964)

Episode 357, transmitted: 13 May 1964
In 1964, the producership of Coronation Street was handed to the young and enthusiastic Tim Aspinall. He immediately began to implement changes. Since it had been fully networked across the various ITV regions in 1960, Coronation Street had never been out of the top ten ratings of the week. However, competition came from the BBC. The BBC placed their most popular comedy series Steptoe and Son opposite the programme. In the pre-video recorder days, viewers were forced to choose what to watch, and, as a consequence, Coronation Street began to lose the ratings. It was decided, by Aspinall, that several "blockbuster" storylines would have to be staged, the most radical being the death of Martha Longhurst.
Despite being a nosy old gossip and, in the Mancunian dialect of the show was "... no better than she should be....", Martha was a highly popular character; thus, she was chosen to be killed off in a highly cynical bid to boost the ratings.
On the night of her death, the credits rolled in silence for the very first time, with the rooftop scene replaced by a close up of the snug table that contained a sherry glass, a passport and Martha's famous NHS spectacles.