Coronation Street Live (2000 episode)
| "Episode 4945" | |
|---|---|
| Coronation Street episode | |
| Directed by | Tony Prescott |
| Written by | Peter Whalley |
| Original air date | 8 December 2000 |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Prince Charles
Trevor McDonald
Noddy Holder
Coronation Street Live is a live episode of the British soap opera Coronation Street which was broadcast on Friday 8 December 2000 as part of the show's 40th anniversary celebrations. The episode was an hour long and aired at 8:00pm, an hour after a repeat of the first episode with an introduction by William Roache from the soap's outdoor set where last minute preparations for the live episode were under way. The episode was number 4945 in the series and was the first live edition to be broadcast since Episode 17, which aired on 3 February 1961. It was watched by 17 million viewers.
The episode is notable for an appearance by Charles, Prince of Wales who visited the show's Manchester based studios earlier in the day and met cast members. Footage of him meeting actress Sue Nicholls was incorporated into the storyline following prior agreement with the Prince's staff, and this is the only part of the episode which was pre-recorded. Scenes for the episode were broadcast live from the Coronation Street outdoor set and the Stage One studio complex next door. The episode charted the events of a single day. However, because transmission was during the hours of darkness all scenes set outdoors appeared near the beginning or end of the programme. Scenes meant to be set during the daytime were studio based.
With council workmen set to arrive to begin digging up the Street's cobble stones and replacing them with tarmac, Ken Barlow (William Roache) and Duggie Ferguson (John Bowe) decide to make up a rota so that the Street's entrance will be continuously manned by demonstrators.
Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) is critical but stable at Weatherfield General, having had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) and Maria Sutherland (Samia Ghadie) convince Vera's husband, Jack (Bill Tarmey) to go home and rest, as he has been at Vera's bedside all night. However, when Martin Platt (Sean Wilson) advises them that Jack should not stay away for too long, Tyrone panics and phones Curly Watts (Kevin Kennedy) to ask him to fetch Jack. Curly, who is speaking on the phone in The Kabin is overheard by Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden), who misinterprets the conversation and believes that Vera has died.
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