Coronation Street is set to make soap history using new technology normally only used in Marvel movies, its boss has revealed.
Exec producer Iain MacLeod says they have created an explosive new sequence with tech “that’s more commonly found in things like The Mandalorian or…the Avengers movies.”
He revealed: “I don’t think any continuing drama, as far as I know, has ever used this technology before. So I think we’ll be the first to do it.”
The scenes revolve around the exit of actress Millie Gibson, who plays Kelly Neelan, and involve an “incredible rooftop sequence”.
He said: “It leaves me with a heavy heart to say it, but we all know Kelly’s leaving the show. So we thought, well actually, the fact that Millie is going and that therefore Kelly is going, allows us to go really big and do something incredibly high stakes to maybe have some characters step on all these landmines that we’ve buried for them over the years and have them all go off in one cataclysmic explosion.
“So we’ve really thrown everything at this week to try and bring out all the big secrets lies, reveals, and schemes. As I say, it’s literally got very high stakes jeopardy. It’s visually incredibly impressive.”
Iain said that the tech was so advanced that it could even replace traditional physical sets.
He says: “We did joke that there will come a point where we don’t need sets anymore. You just need a volume wall and then you can just go, bang, and you’re in the Rovers and then you go, bang, and you’re in the Kabin. We were all joking about it, but a tiny bit of me thinks in 10, 20 years that might actually be not that far from the truth, really.
“Having physical sets might be an anachronism. I don’t know. But certainly, it’s mind bogglingly technical. And we had to hire some very expert people who, as I say, built this 3D version of Manchester, that’s visible in all these scenes.”
Earlier in August, soap bosses announced that actress Gibson would be leaving the Manchester-based drama after more than three years on the cobbles
It’s thought her character Kelly may find out the truth about Gary Windass ( Mikey North ), who killed her loan shark father Rick Neelan (Greg Wood).
