The Queen returns to iconic television set 40 years after first visit

The Queen was photographed in Manchester today as she visited Coronation Street's iconic television set as part of her royal tour.

• The Queen has taken a trip to the cobbles and visited the set of an iconic British soap.
• The Queen visited the Coronation Street set in 1982, so this trip marks her long-awaited return.
• In other royal news, Royal fan dubs Duchess Camilla ‘Princess of Wines’ after vineyard visit on Welsh Tour.

The Queen stopped by the set of Corrie and was pictured chatting with members of the cast and production team who were delighted to chat to her about their work. 

This was a stroll down memory lane for her Majesty as she visited the cobbles almost 40 years ago with her husband Prince Philip.

When she and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the set of the soap in 1982, the Queen opened the new set at Granada Studios and met some of the most prominent cast members at the time.

In an interesting coincidence, the Queen opted to wear teal outfits on both of her visits to the Coronation Street set, despite the visits being 40 years apart.

Similarly, on both occasions, Her Majesty chose to wear a matching hat that complimented her colourful coat and a black handbag that added a chic finish to the look.

On arrival at the set of Coronation Street, the Queen was greeted by Sir Peter Bazelgette, Chairman of ITV, and John Whiston, who is the Managing Director of Continuing Drama.

The Queen had a look around the iconic Rovers Return and chatted to the team about how production had changed because of the Pandemic.

The production of Coronation Street was paused briefly for a few weeks at the beginning of the Pandemic but the soap continued to broadcast continuously.

The Coronation Street production team rolled out a red carpet for the honoured guest and fans joked, "Now that’s not a sight you see on the cobbles every day!"

The Queen was also spotted having a sweet interaction with memebers of the cast.

In a conversation with Bill Roache (Ken Barlow), Barbara Knox (Rita Sullivan), Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts), and Helen Worth (Gail Platt), Barbara said, "You've given us all such a lift by coming, thank you so very much."

The Queen responded, "I think it’s really quite marvellous that you’ve been able to carry on.” 

Bill Roache quickly responded, “Well Ma’am, you’re the one who’s carried on.” This sweet but funny quip gave the crowd a good giggle as the Queen finished her visit.

The Queen had a busy day as immediately after this trip she headed to Manchester Cathedral where she spoke to representatives about how they had provided support for the local community over the past 18 months.