Coronation Street boss promises coronavirus storylines won't "dominate" ITV soap

He said: "We talked a lot about this, as you can well imagine, about whether Coronation Street would have a coronavirus present in it or whether we would exist in a parallel universe where everything proceeded in a pre-pandemic fashion.

"Ultimately, what I thought was, the Coronation Street that we love is the one that reflects modern Britain, albeit in a more heightened way sometimes. It just felt that if there were no coronavirus in Coronation Street, it would stop being a reflection of modern Britain and would instead be a parallel fantasy land."

However, MacLeod went on to explain that the pandemic will not "dominate" the stories moving forward, acknowledging many Corrie fans follow the series as a welcome break from events happening in the real world.

He continued: "I am also aware that people tune in to Coronation Street for escapism to some degree, and to see drama and stories that they'd never normally experience in their own lives. So, while the virus will exist in Coronation Street, we were also keen that it wouldn't dominate every single story and every single scene."

Coronavirus will impact Weatherfield in more subtle ways, such as how people behave and how businesses operate, with powerful drama remaining the focus.

Corrie's dark storyline about Yasmeen and Geoff has seen particular success recently, but the show will make time for a "healthy dollop" of comedy too, as it always has done.