15 Things Fans Were Never Supposed to Know About ‘Coronation Street’

Coronation Street is the world’s longest running soap opera, premiering way back in 1960 and still going strong today. The show is a cultural institution in the UK, and is beloved by generations of fans around the world. It takes place in the fictional town of Weatherfield, UK and features a collection of down-to-earth working class characters who meet up in the various row houses, shops, cafés and, of course, the neighborhood pub. The storylines are generally about everyday issues and relationships, with the occasional flair of soap opera dramatics. Here are some things you never knew about Corrie.

1. Bill Tarmey took real punches

Bill Tarmey played Jack Duckworth on the show and would never duck out of the way when Liz Dawn’s Vera was scripted to hit him. “If the script called for Vera to hit Jack, Bill always used to tell me that he’d duck out of the way. But he never did. He used to have lumps all over him. I swear to God, I once hit him with a frozen fish and sent him flying over a table.”

2. They go through a crazy amount of hair and makeup products

They shoot five episodes a week with close ups on all cast members, which means a lot of makeup touchups. In a single month they reportedly go through 50 boxes of tissues, 20 packs of face wipes, ten lipsticks, five powders, six eyeliners, four blushers, six eye-shadows, and 15 large cans of hairspray.

3. They used fake food until 2010

Things on set were a little more simple before HD TV came around. At that point they switched over to using real food for the first time at Roy’s Rolls as well as rebuilding the chimney stacks to make them look more realistic.