Coronation Street: Filming to begin on new set

A dessert shop, bakery, pound store, charity shop, takeaway and pawnbrokers make up Weatherfield Precinct

Coronation Street characters will soon be able to venture further afield from the cobbles with a new set of shops.

A dessert shop, bakery, pound store, charity shop, takeaway and pawnbrokers make up Weatherfield Precinct.

The 1960s-style units with flats above them have been talked about for years but have never been seen on-screen.

Daniel Brocklebank, who plays vicar Billy Mayhew, said: "There's something brilliantly depressing about how rundown it looks.

"I think Billy is probably going to be spending time in the charity shop.

The set, which was built over nine months, includes a children's play area

Actor Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe, cut a red ribbon to officially open the set on Thursday.

The work has been going on for nine months, while filming carried on around the building site.

Elle Mulvaney, who plays Amy Barlow, said: "It's mint. It's the first time I've seen it and I can't get over the amount of detail.

"It looks like it's been here for years.

"It's so good for the younger cast to have the precinct. There's a lot of fun to be had."

Filming on the new set will begin next week

James Craven, who plays Aaron Sandford, added: "It just looks like it has been cut out of Salford and brought here.

"Something's bound to kick off here."

One of the first storylines to be set in the precinct when filming starts there next week will be in the Gregory Pope Foundation charity shop, where Roy Cropper and Evelyn Plummer will volunteer their services.

Actor Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe, cut a red ribbon to officially open the set on Thursday

Producer Iain MacLeod said: "Hats off to our design and construction teams who have conjured a totally convincing new precinct for our drama.

"They took their inspiration from Salford's many real-world, late 20th Century shopping areas and what they have created is a brilliant, characterful space to tell a diverse range of stories."