Coronation Street to Air Six Days a Week on ITV

LONDON: Starting in late 2017, ITV will add a sixth weekly episode of the long-running soap drama Coronation Street.

The current set layout will be extended to accommodate the expansion in production, and additional studio space will be created on the 7.7-acre site in Trafford, Manchester. Coronation Street has been on air on ITV since December 1960.

Kevin Lygo, ITV’s director of television, said: “I am a lifelong fan of Coronation Street and one of the first things I wanted to explore when I became director of television was taking the production to six episodes a week.

“The soaps are the cornerstone of the ITV schedule, and Coronation Street continues to produce some of the finest drama and comedy on television. It is a hugely important part of what has defined ITV throughout its history, and I want it to continue to be right at the heart of what ITV defines in years to come.

“As a viewer I have watched the soap as it has continued to evolve, entertain, and grip the nation with fantastic story lines and this move will be the next exciting chapter in Corrie‘s story.”

ITV Studios’s managing director of continuing drama and head of ITV in the North, John Whiston, who has responsibility for overseeing both Coronation Street and Emmerdale, said: “From a creative perspective this is an extremely exciting development for the production team, writers, cast and crew who work on our globally renowned soap drama.

“Coronation Street’s new producer Kate Oates, modern filming and editing facilities at the program’s production center and our fantastic, peerless drama teams will help turn this great idea into reality.”