How the Rovers Return fire was filmed - in a warehouse

Lifting the lid on secrets of filming the Rovers Return fire is a lovely little article in one of the industry magazines HGV.com (the voice of the road haulage industry).  Oh yes.

Although we saw the Rovers Return burn to the ground and shots of the exterior were filmed on the Street set itself, as we have already seen, the interior shots were filmed in a warehouse.  The location was the 26 Bond Warehouse owned by North West logistics specialist, AKW Group.

Rebecca Davies, Director at AKW Group, reveals the graft behind the magic: “Before Coronation Street took occupation the warehouse area was being used for general storage and we were required to relocate 700 pallets to a different warehouse for this project.

“Together with a replica of the whole pub the crew also built an upstairs set and the cellar. We were lucky enough to witness the whole operation which was very impressive and we also had the cast members who were involved with the fire scenes on site while they were filming, it was a fascinating insight into how much work goes into a few single scenes of quality television.

“It was of course very controlled with supervision from the fire service and health and safety teams both from ITV and AKW Group.”

Following the Coronation Street filming, AKW Group managed to rescue a memento from the fire – a Newton and Ridley beer tray which resides in our display cabinet and acts as a reminder of the time we had part of Coronation Street at AKW Group” said Rebecca.

Read the full article here.

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What's next for Corrie's Jason?

From several comments made on this blog following Sunday's hour long Corrie, it seems Jason Grimshaw has many fans and quite a lot of sympathy in the aftermath of the fire drama at the Rovers. Last night we saw him bear the brunt of the anger from both Paul and Dev as well as a vaguely unpleasant dismissal from the Rovers' very own witches coven.

Now we all know that Jason is in no way responsible for the fire and that St Ella will no doubt rue the day the inevitable happens and she gets back with dastardly Karl (superbly played by John Michie). So what will the future hold for lovely Jason? I admit I am a fan of the character, I think both he and Ryan Thomas have come on leaps and bounds over the last few years. I never liked his pairing with Rosie Webster and to be honest, he was the mature element in his most recent coupling with St Ella Cougar. So where does Jason go from here?

I liked how before the fire drama he had started to build up a nice little business for himself. I hope that despite Karl's nasty intervention, we see Jason back on track with his endeavours. As I'm no fan of 'orrible Owen, I'd quite like to see Jason take Owen on and show him what he's made of. Should Owen depart the cobbles, it would be good to see Jason take over his business and make a success of it.

Romantically I'm not too sure what his prospects are. He has a chequered history with the ladies, with most of them dumping him in the end - I guess this makes him quite endearing, but it would be nice to see him find some happiness longterm. Looking at the possible partners already resident in Coronation Street makes me think he may need to look further afield. However who knows, Carla Connor may dump Barlow the Bookie for a younger model?

I would also like to see more scenes between Eileen and Jason. I think they work very well together as mother and son - there is a real bond there. I loved how Eileen showed concern, support and loyalty towards her son last night in the face of abuse and condemnation from Paul and Dev. 

I know both men were highly emotional, but Paul in particular really should have kept his big gob shut until the facts had been clarified. Anyway, as we know Paul will depart in the future, I think Eileen is going to need Jason more than ever. 
Whatever happens, I hope both Jason and Ryan Thomas stick around for the foreseeable future. And let's hope he gets a few more high profile storylines that continue to push him and bring out the best in him.

So what would you like to see Jason do next?

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Rovers Return fire recreated in Lego

Oh here's something very cool. Or hot, depending on your point of view. The Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester at the Trafford Centre has recreated the Rovers Return fire in Lego blocks.

The MEN says that the master modelers at the Centre were "waiting with baited breath to see the outcome of the storyline" and produced the scene where Paul rescused Stella. They did put Paul in fireman gear which wasn't how it happened but that's splitting hairs.

If you're in Manchester in the next little while, check it out. The Legoland website has all the directions and other information you need.


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Thar she blows, The Rovers goes up in smoke

The creepiest line of the night was Karl whispering to Stella that at least they will die together. Then the best line of the night came from Peter.

Holy Crap, that was exciting for the most part, didn't you think? The only part that made me want to stick pins in my eyes was that absolutely cringeworthy performance of Dev's in hospital, triple sniffing over Sunita's body while Karl was stood behind him aching to pull her life support plug! Or maybe he wanted to wrap it round Dev's neck, I don't know.

Aside from that, I thought everything was very well done. Nice touch having a ladder from the builder's yard and Stella coming out of the same bedroom window that Bet did in 1986. It was strange not seeing Roy and Hayley manning the teapots in the cafe, when everyone went to the Bistro instead.

For more observations, and to find out what Peter's line of the night was, look over here.

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My thoughts on the Rovers fire

So last night we sat and watched while the Rovers Return burned. Goodness me, all this in the name of entertainment! Obviously, I couldn't wait to get my thoughts down on the blog, as this storyline has been much heralded for many weeks now. 

However rather than write at great length I'm just going to keep it simple and do a list of things I liked and things I definitely did not. 

So here we go. Let's start off on a positive note:

- The special effects and the fire itself were spectacular and very realistic. You could see where the money had gone on screen.

- The build up to the fire itself was nicely paced, even if it did feel like the strip show took an age at times!

- The fire will thankfully mark the end of the awful wallpaper/curtains/sofa combo in the Rovers back room.

- I liked that it was Emily and Norris who raised the alarm, even though the Barlows were almost all absent.

- John Michie is proving to be a very effective villain in his role as Karl.

- Tracy Barlow finally has a saving grace - she rescued Eccles from No. 1!


And now we come to my negative thoughts I'm afraid:

- Echos of the tram crash Mr Collinson - lots of residents rushing down the cobbles towards a flaming building, only this time we had the refreshing change of it being in the opposite direction.

- The strip show was just ludicrous! I actually found it embarrassing to watch, even if Rita was planted right in the front row.

- It was yet another story centred on St Ella of the Back Room. I found it disturbing to watch her soaking in the bath with Barry White crooning in the background. Urgh.

- This big event will obviously lead to lots of plots by numbers in the coming weeks: we'll have the beside vigils, the blame game, the guilt, the yucky Karl & St Ella reconciliation and the eventual unmasking of Karl by a suspicious St Ella. Yawn!

- I would have preferred a happier ending for the once lovely Sunita.

- The fact that this is Phil Collinson's idea of a big exit for himself. Get over yourself I say: I'd rather have had a better quality of stories and scripts throughout his reign rather than a big bang to say goodbye.

- The overall feeling of deja vu. Despite a more modern approach, it just feels like we've been here before.

- The promo picture of St Ella, Karl and Sunita surrounded by flames is one of the worst I have ever seen!

- I was most disappointed that St Ella didn't pay homage to Bet Lynch by crawling though her own vomit a la 1986. 

Despite my reservations I will of course be tuning in on Wednesday to find out what happens next. So what are your thoughts so far?


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On the edge of my seat

It started with a argybargy in the Bistro and ended up in an inferno. What did you think of the beginning two episodes of the latest Coronation Street disaster? I enjoyed it, I really did. The pre-show slanging match to the Full Monty seemed to entertain the punters almost as much as the show itself and one or two of the dancers appeared to have enjoyed themselves so much that I'm sure they had done it before.

But it was Karl that lit Stella's fire unknowingly. He didn't realize she had gone back home early and is now playing the hero, though trapped up at the top of the stairs. Was it wrong for me to be a little sorry that Tracy Barlow got out alive? We were promised a death. I had hope. On the plus side, she did go back for Eccles.

There's more commentary and a few photos here. Previews for the next episode look even more exciting! Wednesday will have us on the edge of our seats for sure. Well, me anyway! What did you think?
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A Potted History of the Rovers Return

Tonight the Rovers will burn. It's a brick building so it won't be a pile of ashes but the devasation will be pretty bad. I'm sure all the Barlows will get out safely and Number 1 will be unscathed, miraculously, but what of the pub?

The Rovers has been the heart of Coronation Street for the entire history of the show and it's seen  tragedies and triumphs, and been damaged a few times as well.

Look back on a potted history of some of the highlights of the Rovers Return here.

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Eve of Destruction

While we know the pub isn't going to burn down to the ground and end up a heap of rubble on the corner, it is going to be gutted and need a complete renovation inside. There are similarities to the last fire in the Rovers in that the landlady is going to be trapped upstairs and someone is going to manage to get her out just like Kevin did with Bet Lynch back in the day.

We've had all the players now put in place. We have resentful Karl who appears to have caused damage to the electrics with the burst pipe and we have equally resentful Sunita. Her chance at happiness with Dev may have been scuppered with Stella putting Dev's doubts and fears to the forefront.

How will it all play out? We'll see on Monday. In the meantime, there's more musing about the subject here.


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Michelle Collins chats about Karl, Jason and the fire

There's an interview with Michelle Collins on the ITV site today and she's telling all about the upcoming Rovers blaze next week. She reveals that Karl will save Stella and manage to get her out through the flames. This will have the effect of softening Stella's recent hard attitude towards him. He's been showing distinct stalker-ish signs and she's been insisting that he back off.

The pub has electrical problems and Jason and Tim try to fix it this week. Is this the cause of the fire? The Plot Recycling Department may be in play here. If you will recall, the last Rovers fire was caused by the wrong sized fuse installed by Jack Duckworth. Time will tell but Ms. Collins says that Stella suspects that Jason may have made this similar mistake.

On filming the fire, Michelle says she felt safe but admits it was kind of scary just the same.

Prior to the fire, Stella has a go at Dev, pointing out that she thinks Sunita is unstable and untrustworthy. Michelle also think that Stella is starting to be disillusioned about Jason but jumps into asking him to move in, more to prove to Karl that she's moved on. She thinks Stella still has strong feelings for Karl in spite of everything and when he proves himself to be a hero, those feelings appear to be warming up again, judging from the spoilers we've seen.

ITV has a full gallery of photos from the fire here.

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Blog Exclusive! Behind-the-scenes interview at Rovers Return fire

It’s all heating up down at Coronation Street. The filming of the Rovers Return fire is taking place and the pub could already be burned to a shell. Working behind the scenes to ensure filming of the fire runs both smoothly and safely is Matt Owens and his team from Rapid Fire Cover who are Television and Event Fire Safety Specialists.

Matt has kindly agreed to an interview with us here on the Coronation Street Blog to talk us through what it’s like to set our favourite soap pub on fire and burn it to the ground!

Matt and his team from Rapid Fire Cover on Coronation Street

Q: Matt, what is Rapid Fire Cover and how did you become involved in filming the Rovers Return fire at Coronation Street?
Rapid Fire Cover is a specialist fire protection company providing fire safety services to the Television, Film and Events industry. We supply professional firefighters, costumes, props, fire appliances and other fire service vehicles. Previously we’ve worked with Emmerdale, Prisoners Wives, DCI Banks, The Syndicate, Bedlam and Silent Witness and have been involved in numerous feature films and adverts.

Q: Are you a fan of Coronation Street and if so, what's it been like to see the Rovers Return burning down?
I am big a fan of Corrie and watching such an iconic landmark burn down in front of us has been quite surreal. To have been involved from the start and to finally get to filming, after all of the planning and such a long exciting wait, has been incredible. We feel very privileged to have worked on such a high profile storyline.

Q: We've seen press pictures on twitter of Corrie's fireman Paul as the Rovers burns down. Did you have to give the actor specific fireman training?
Tony Hirst, who plays Paul, is a great guy and has kept us entertained all week. We have talked through with him in great depth various techniques and procedures that relate to his part within the storyline which have added to his already in depth knowledge through his own research.

Q: What's been the best things about working on Coronation Street
Apart from the dinners?! The cast and crew have been great and very welcoming towards us.

Q: Did you get star struck and meet Corrie cast members you are big fans of?
Having worked on many productions in the past, being star struck is no longer a novelty and you soon realise the cast are ordinary people just the same as us going about their normal working day, although this is definitely not your usual 9-5 job!

Q: As a Corrie fan, who are your favourite characters and some of your favourite storylines from over the years?
My favourite character has to be Norris; I think he makes the show! To be able to meet and work with both the young and senior members of the cast who are legends in their own right, is something some of the fans who have been waiting outside all week in the rain, can only dream of.  Although this maybe is bias, my favourite storyline has to be this one due to the fact I have heard there are some pretty handsome firefighters involved! No, seriously, having watched back what we have filmed already, I can assure you that these episodes are going to be amazing and will surely change a few of the characters’ lives forever.

Q: Is there anything you can tell us about the Rovers Return fire from a technical point of view?
Whilst we understand there is a need to get the desired footage, there cannot be a compromise to anybody’s safety, so we have to ensure all bases are covered. We have had 10 firefighters, 2 fire appliances and 2 support vehicles on standby ensuring the cast and crew’s safety were not jeopardised whilst filming. We use mainly co2 to ensure we do not cause water damage to the sets which can at times also impose its own risks. We have also had breathing apparatus crews on standby for high risk scenes where we may need to have crews inside the burning pub to carry out firefighting or should the worst occur and we have to rescue a cast member.

Q: Ooh, it sounds exciting!  Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Fans can expect an adrenalin filled week of episodes with some spectacular stunt sequences which will keep them on the edge of their seats.  Oh - and I don’t share puddings!

Matt Owens
www.rapidfirecover.co.uk
The Television and Event Fire Safety Specialists

Follow Matt on twitter @rapidfirecover

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