Coronation Street celebrates 50th with a bang

Coronation Street will celebrate its 50th birthday with a bang, new pictures reveal. Dramatic snaps of the show's nail-biting anniversary episodes show flames raging on the cobbles after a massive explosion at the Joinery bar causes a tram to slide off the viaduct and smash into the street. Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) is seen clinging to her baby son Jack as flames engulf Dev's corner shop. Corrie's special week kicks off on Monday December 6, when the tram hits. An hour-long live episode on Thursday, December 9 will explore the aftermath of the devastating incident, which is set to kill off much-loved characters. A source told The Sun: "The ramifications for the storyline will be seen for months to come." Bookmakers Bodog.com have released odds on who will lose their lives in the horror, making Molly the favourite at 1/5. Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) is next at 1/2, followed by Ashley Peacock (Steve Arnold) at 1/3. Fans will be able to continue placing bets while the action unfolds on-screen.

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.