Coronation Street is on course for a re-birth when it moves out of its historic Manchester home.

The Rovers Return regulars are set to embark on their final 12 months of filming at Quay Street, home to Corrie for the last 51 years.

Building work has already begun on Weatherfield’s new home at Trafford Wharf, across the water from MediaCityUK at Salford Quays.

If all goes to plan, filming will switch to the new site in spring of next year with exterior and interior sets, plus a production base, on the 7.7 acre site.

Executive producer Kieran Roberts said: "The move is full steam ahead. It’s a huge project and incredibly exciting.

"But we’ve got to arrive when it’s 100 per cent finished because we have to stop one Friday night at Quay Street and start the next week down at Trafford Wharf. So we’re keeping an open mind about an exact date."

The ITV1 drama is usually shot six weeks ahead of broadcast. But cast and crew will be shooting extra episodes in the run up to the move.

Kieran said: "Over the course of the next year we’re going to get a little bit further ahead of ourselves than we normally do."

The new exterior set will be an exact replica on the existing one, while increasing the scale of the buildings so they match the size of those in the real world.

Kieran explained: "What I’m hoping we’ll achieve is that we’ll have a site that’s a real improvement for us making the show and the viewer won’t notice any difference."

He said the focus would still be on the main Coronation Street cobbles but some areas of Weatherfield, such as Victoria Street, will be slightly extended.

He said: "We won’t be able to expand infinitely when we get there so we need to plan for the future. We can open up little areas that we haven’t had before."

Producer Phil Collinson said: "It’s a massive move for the show and a very exciting transition. A really exciting re-birth. It will look the same but feel very different for us working there."

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