‘Coronation Street’ fans have pleaded with the show’s bosses to launch an animated series.
The ITV soap was up to its usual April Fools’ Day antics when a message on the show’s Twitter this morning (01.04.20) shared a link to a story which claimed ITV was to release an animated ‘Corrie’ spin-off series.
Corrie’s Twitter post read: "EXCLUSIVE: Coronation Street: The Animated Series.
"Experience all the drama, comedy and romance you’ve come to expect from Corrie, but in a way you’ve never seen before!"
A short clip featured an animated version of Kirk (Andy Whyment) and Beth Sutherland (Lisa George).
Andy said: "This is great fun, we get to continue making ‘Coronation Street’ in these difficult times without having to actually leave our own homes – which is a win for everybody."
Several viewers began to get excited about the prospect, and while some spotted it was probably a prank, a number of fans hoped the series could become a real concept and might help viewers to get their cobbles fix during the current reduced schedule, which is due to the coronavirus pandemic.
One fan wrote on Twitter: "Yet this might become a viable solution to keep Corrie storylines going of the lockdown continues. (sic)"
Another posted: "april fool or not it’s actually a good idea given the actors can record their lines and do voice-overs for their animated characters (sic)
One shared: "It’s an April fools but if this lock down continues I think you should really think about doing this for real tbh (sic)
A fan tweeted: "You might have to do this if you run out of actual episodes to show on tv (sic)"
But ‘Corrie’ later confirmed it was a prank.
They tweeted: "You caught us… Coronation Street: The Animated Series was an April Fools – it would be pretty fun though! (sic)"