Coronation Street bosses have released the first picture of its famous cobbles being recreated on the soap's brand new set in MediaCityUK.
The familiar line of red brick terraced houses stand out in the middle of the construction site as the 52-year-old soap prepares to move to its new location in the heart of Manchester's buzzing new film studios.
Nineteen different types of brick, seven different types of mortar and a heap of the famous cobbles are being used to rebuild the street exactly as it was before, so that viewers will not be able to spot the difference.
After the Rover's Return was recently burned to the ground in the fire started by Karl Munro, the pub is being recreated at the new location – Gary Windass and Owen Armstrong are helping restore the watering hole on screen.
Corrie is still being filmed on its original set in Granada Studios, based in Manchester's Quay Street, until the new location is ready, with work due to finish by the end of 2013. The project was delayed last October when part of the new studio had to be pulled down following problems with the steel frame.
Though replicating the current set, the new 7.7 acre site is bigger, allowing greater production flexibility. Interior shots of the resident's houses are currently all done in a studio, as the houses on the set are much smaller than they would be in real life. The new houses are being built to a more realistic scale, but most interior shots will still be filmed in the studio.
