''The Road to Coronation Street'' is a 2010 British drama first broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. It is a dramatisation of the creation of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'', 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 Salford 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 Street''s rival, ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', broadcast on BBC One. Though ''Coronation Street'' is and always has been, broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, 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 ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel by ...

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 Street''s creator and writer, was given to actor David Dawson. ''Coronation Street''s 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 Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...

. 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 William James Roache (born 29 December 1985) is an English actor who is perhaps best known for his roles in connection with his father William Roache. In ''Coronation Street'' he played James, the long-lost grandson of Ken Barlow (played by his ...

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 Annie Walker may refer to: * Annie E. A. Walker (1855–1929), American artist * Annie Louisa Walker (1836–1907), English Canadian teacher and author * Annie Purcell Sedgwick (1871–1950), later Annie Walker, Scottish chemist * Annie Walker ( ...

and Lynda Baron played the role of Violet Carson, who played one of ''Coronation Street''s 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.

Reception

The drama achieved a peak of 852,000 viewers on its first transmission, making it the second most popular programme in BBC Four's history, behind 2008's '' The Curse of Steptoe'' at 1.41m viewers. Sam Wollaston, a critic for '' The Guardian'', gave a positive review, stating "''The Road to Coronation Street'' is fond and warm and charming", and stated there were "fine performances" from the entire cast, in particular from David Dawson and

. Phil Hogan for '' The Observer'' also commented on the "superb" quality of acting, and also praised Jessie Wallace personally, saying: "Watching ''EastEnders'' star Jessie Wallace storm through her audition as blowsy Street firebrand Elsie Tanner – tearing into her delinquent son Dennis for nicking two bob out of her purse – made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end." Grace Dent of ''The Guardian'' echoed Hogan's comments, saying "Obviously, the star of this show is the sublime Jessie Wallace playing 60s megastar Pat Phoenix, who played Corrie's Elsie Tanner." Jane Simon of the '' Daily Mirror'' stated the programme was "a triumph on every level". ''The Road to Coronation Street'' was awarded Best Single Drama at the

2011 British Academy Television Awards The 2011 British Academy Television Awards were held on 22 May 2011. The nominations were announced on 26 April. Graham Norton hosted the ceremony. Nominations Winners are listed first and emboldened. Programmes with multiple nominat ...

. Additionally, Jessie Wallace and Lynda Baron were both nominated in the Best Supporting Actress Category for their performances as Pat Phoenix and Violet Carson, respectively, however, Lauren Socha won the award for her role in the E4 series '' Misfits''.''The Road to Coronation Street'' was repeated on 11 December 2020 on

, as part of the 60th Anniversary celebrations of ''Coronation Street''.

Cast

* David Dawson as Tony Warren * Jessie Wallace as Pat Phoenix * Celia Imrie as Doris Speed * Lynda Baron as Violet Carson *

as William Roache * Sophia Di Martino as Josie Scott * Ann Aris as Nita Valerie *

as Sidney Bernstein * Shaun Dooley as Derek Bennett * Enid Dunn as Agnes * Henry Goodman as Cecil Bernstein * Michelle Holmes as Brenda * Jane Horrocks as Margaret Morris * Christian McKay as Harry Elton * Tara Moran as Edna Walker * Phoebe Nicholls as Mrs Simpson * John Thomson as Harry Kershaw * David Williams as Commissionaire

References

External links