Coronation Street has been a fixture of British telly for decades now, with generations of viewers following the lives and upheavals of Weatherfield's fictional residents.
The programme, which was originally commissioned by Granada Television, is set in a Salford community and predates other popular soaps like EastEnders and Emmerdale.
If you're a fan of the soap but don't know much about the classic series, here is everything to know about the show's beginnings.
When did Coronation Street start?
Coronation Street's first episode aired on December 9, 1960, at 7pm, but faced a number of hurdles before attaining cult status.
The programme was initially rejected by Granada's founder, Sidney Bernstein. However, producer Harry Elton was able to convince him to commission 13 pilot episodes.
The soap, which is now produced by ITV Studios, the successor to Granada, was originally influenced by "kitchen-sink realism," a type of programming known for depicting the working-class lives with a blend of humour and relatable characters.
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How many episodes of Coronation Street have there been so far?
At the time of writing, there have been 11,518 episodes of Coronation Street but this number increases dramatically every year, with three 60-minute episodes of the soap airing weekly.
In 2020, the show celebrated its 10,000th episode and was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's longest-running TV soap opera after its 50th anniversary.
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