Coronation Street 50th Anniversary Event

09 December 10

To mark the 50th Anniversary of Coronation Street, BAFTA, BFI and ITV presented a panel event with key members of the cast and production team to discuss what it is that has made the show such an enduring national treasure.

Discover what first inspired Tony Warren to write Coronation Street.
Hear the panel consider what ingredients have lead to the show's longevity and continued success.
Learn from the cast what it is like to be recognised by millions as a familiar household character.

The panel was chaired by journalist Mark Lawson and included (from left to right): producer Kieran Roberts, actress Kym Marsh, writer Tony Warren, actor David Neilson and producer Phil Collinson.

50 years ago, a young Tony Warren felt such a fondness for his hometown of Salford in Manchester that he was compelled to preserve its characters and scenes ‘like flies in amber’. The result was Coronation Street, Britain’s longest running and most watched soap opera.

The reward for the loyal viewer when they get to the end of a character’s time in the story is something that you cannot replicate in any other form of drama.

Coronation Street has long been cherished for its warmth and sense of community, its colour and family spirit, and of course the constant humour throughout even the grittiest of storylines.

Watch the panel discuss how a show about working class people, on an ordinary street, in an undistinguished suburb of Manchester has wholeheartedly captured the minds and hearts of a nation.