A new drama charts the shaky beginnings of Britain’s most treasured soap. It’s 1960 and a new programme in development at Granada is giving the bigwigs cold feet. Florizel Street is a twice-weekly drama about life in the backstreets of Manchester, and the brainchild of a cocky 23-year-old local scriptwriter called Tony Warren. He has created a cast of characters including battleaxe Ena Sharples, tart-with-a-heart Elsie Tanner and snobbish pub landlady Annie Walker, and the feeling on the studio floor is that the prodigy has created something very special. But will they be able to persuade the suits upstairs? This one-off drama looks at Corrie’s humble beginnings, and features a host of big names, including Jessie Wallace as Pat Phoenix, Lynda Baron as Violet Carson and Celia Imrie as Annie Walker. We caught up with David Dawson, who plays Tony Warren, and Jane Horrocks, who stars as formidable casting director Margaret Morris.

Are you both big Corrie fans?
Jane Horrocks: No, I’ve never watched it. Neither did my parents or any of my relatives. I actually think it’s more of a Southern thing. A lot of my Southern friends are obsessed with it.
David Dawson: But I’m obsessed with it and I’m from Widnes! One of my earliest memories is going to Blackpool with my nana and along the seafront there would be pictures of all the characters lit up.

What do you know about your real-life characters?
David Dawson: Well, Tony came on set and was an amazing presence. He gave me all sorts of great bits of gossip. Like how he and Pat Phoenix would research Elsie Tanner by hiding under pub tables and listening to the conversations of the women who were drinking there.
Jane Horrocks: With Margaret Morris I only had one photograph to go on. But Tony Warren told me she was quite a formidable woman. Corrie was a big challenge for her because she had only ever cast Southerners, and had only used Northerners for quirky supporting roles. But Tony fought for authentic Northern accents and so the two of them had a bit of a battle. In the end she realised he was right, though!

What was the Road To Coronation Street like to film?
Jane Horrocks: There was a nice atmosphere. It just flew by.
David Dawson: It’s got a great cast — Celia Imrie and Horrocks, of course! And there’s a lovely cameo from William Roache’s real-life son, who plays William as a 28-year-old. It’s a gorgeous little nod. James didn’t really look like Ken Barlow until he put the wig on.
Jane Horrocks: That was never a wig!
David Dawson: It was! There’s this great scene where he says, 'I’m just doing this for a week. Then I’m going to get into films!’
Jane Horrocks: Yes, I think William Roache may have been rather grand about his career in those days!

Was the original Corrie cast a happy ship?
Jane Horrocks: From what I can gather they were. They were like a big family.
David Dawson: Edna, the original wardrobe mistress, came to visit us on set, and because we had filmed where she had actually worked, her reaction was amazing. She sat down and got very emotional. She said it was like watching ghosts walking across the corridor. You have to remember that many of these people were her friends.

How did they take to stardom?
Jane Horrocks: Well there weren’t really any tabloids then so they could be a lot more anonymous. They could have had affairs with their co-stars and no one would have ever known!
David Dawson: Apparently, the cast had hangouts where they would slope off to after filming.

Do you think the show has changed over the years?
Jane Horrocks: I wouldn’t know!
David Dawson: I think it was a lot grittier in the early days. It was quite sharp and angry and I think it’s lost that a bit.
Jane Horrocks: It’s a more affluent street now, isn’t it?
David Dawson: Yes, and that probably accounts for the lack of grit.

Would you like to have a role in Corrie?
Jane Horrocks: I’m not overly bothered. I think it was lovely that Ian McKellen did a guest stint, though. I know he’s been a fan for years.
David Dawson: I’d like to be a sort of bastard child of Reg Holdsworth. That would be amazing. I’d be a right little dweeb.

By Ben Lawrence