The Road to Coronation Street
The Road to Coronation Street is a 2010 British drama first broadcast on BBC Four. It is a dramatisation of the creation of Coronation Street, the UK's longest-running television soap opera, from conception to its first transmission in December 1960. Set mainly at Granada Studios, Manchester in 1960, the 75-minute-long programme follows the true story of Tony Warren, a struggling scriptwriter who creates a vision of a television programme depicting normal life in a street of terraced houses. The production first aired in October 2010, and was one of several programmes celebrating the 50th anniversary of Coronation Street that year.
Background
The Road to Coronation Street was written by Daran Little, a long-time archivist on Coronation Street who became a scriptwriter. At the time, however, Little was a scriptwriter for Coronation Streets rival, EastEnders, broadcast on BBC One. Though Coronation Street is and always has been, broadcast on ITV, a competing network, the idea of documenting the show on the anniversary of its half century running was picked up by its natural rival, the BBC. Since the original broadcast, it has been repeated several times on ITV3 and, on the occasion of Tony Warren's death, ITV itself. On 28 June 2020, it was screened on ITV as 'another chance to see', a rare occasion of a BBC-aired show produced by ITV airing on the channel itself.Casting
The role of Tony Warren, Coronation Streets creator and writer, was given to actor David Dawson. Coronation Streets producer, Canadian-born Harry Elton, was played by Christian McKay. Casting director Margaret Morris and her young assistant Josie Scott, who befriends Warren, were played by Jane Horrocks and Sophia Di Martino, respectively. Derek Bennett, the director, was portrayed by Shaun Dooley, while Sidney Bernstein was played by Steven Berkoff.Jessie Wallace was given the role of Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street. Wallace briefly had sessions with a dialect coach before filming commenced. James Roache plays his father William Roache in the drama. The elder Roache has played Ken Barlow in Coronation Street since its inception. As well as acting in The Road to Coronation Street, James was filming scenes for Coronation Street in a non-regular role as Ken Barlow's grandson, James Cunningham at the same time. Celia Imrie played Doris Speed, who played the character of Annie Walker, and Lynda Baron played the role of Violet Carson, who played one of Coronation Streets most iconic characters, Ena Sharples. John Thomson and Michelle Holmes, who had previously been members of the Coronation Street cast, appeared as H.V. Kershaw and Harry Elton's secretary, respectively.