Coronation Street’s best loved older characters – including longest serving resident Ken Barlow – could be forced to stay home once filming resumes thanks to government guidelines regarding the over 70s.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in recent months, the elderly have been deemed the most vulnerable to the disease, with lockdown measures affecting over 70s the most seriously.
As a result, older people may have to observe social isolation long after other groups and with a cast of varied ages, Coronation Street is considering banning actors such as Bill Roache and Barbaba Knox, who plays Rita Sullivan, from set.
“It’s a huge risk to remove some of Corrie’s biggest stars, but far riskier to allow them on set,” said a source.
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The day of Yasmeen's hearing arrives and after a difficult time in custody a nervous Yasmeen awaits her fate in court.
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But despite Imran's confidence and best efforts to make Yasmeen receive bail, she is denied and Yasmeen is forced to head back to prison.
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Heartbroken, Alya vows to tell everyone what's really been going on and calls in at The Rovers after the trial, emotionally announcing to everyone that Yasmeen has been the victim of domestic abuse.
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Elsewhere, Steve and Leanne are buoyed as they're taken on a tour of the nursery school they're hoping to send Oliver to.
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But their excitement is short lived when, later that day, Leanne finds Oliver having a seizure at home and frantically rings an ambulance.
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Though Oliver seems to have calmed down by the time paramedics arrive, Steve and Leanne describe Oliver's symptoms to a doctor who seems concerned.
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Later on when Nick is reading a bedtime story to Oliver he suffers another seizure and ends up in intensive care. Nick asks David to talk to Leanne about living with epilepsy.
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Meanwhile, Cathy is at her wits end working at the kebab shop with Bernie and is threatening to quit until Dev offers her an extra 50p an hour.
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Deciding the bury the hatchet if they're to continue working together, Bernie pulls out a couple of cans of cider from underneath the counter, and offering one to Cathy, they seem to be getting on at last.
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Craig suggests to David they go on a run together, and though David wants to get out of it, he can't find a good enough excuse.
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Later on when David is meant to be at Gail's birthday tea, he heads to the Kabin and overhears Craig and Bernie discussing some gang wars at a nearby estate.
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Formulating a plan in his head, David makes his way over to the nearby Hylda Park estate and spots a car full of lads who look as though they're dealing drugs.
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Getting ahead of himself, David ends up leaping on the bonnet of their car. Soon the lads rev the engine and give chase to a fleeing David.
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At the Bistro, new manager Don makes it clear he's unhappy with Ed's work and when he makes racist remarks under his breath, Michael is shocked that his dad lets it go.
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But Ed isn't the only Bailey to face trouble. On the street, James is discussing his recent match with Tim when they're approached by a County fan.
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As the fan gets closer he begins shouting homophobic slurs at James. James sees red and launches a punch as Tim tries to break them up.
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“In one respect, it’s much simpler to focus on the storylines involving younger actors for whom returning to filming is less of a risk.”
Speaking to The Sun, they continued, “But it’s also a nightmare for the producers because an unusually large chunk of the show’s cast are elderly and many of them had ongoing storylines sketched out for them months in advance.”
Loads of our favourite TV programmes have undergone a serious overhaul this year as precautions against coronavirus impact filming.
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