Corrie bosses want to turn Tina McIntyre and Graeme Proctor into the new Stan and Hilda Ogden.
The pair will begin an unlikely romance next month.
And soap chiefs hope their feuding and comic bust-ups - like the much-loved Ogdens had in the 1970s and 80s - will be a hit.
A Street insider said: "Tina and Graeme's pairing will be dynamite TV. They may seem an odd couple but their characters are real favourites. They both have attitude and each can give as good as they get - just like Stan and Hilda could."
Filming for the storyline began two weeks ago. Tina, played by Michelle Keegan, 22, collapses at her flat after she stops eating following her split from boyfriend Jason Grimshaw and death of dad Joe. Geeky ex-con Graeme, played by Craig Gazey, 27, spots her while cleaning her windows and romance blossoms after he helps to revive her.
The insider added: "Viewers will be touched by the initial scenes but will be shocked to see Tina and Graeme get it together.
"There will be a chemistry between them. Michelle and Craig are immensely talented actors and if anyone can pull off this storyline, they can."
The Ogdens were together until 1984 when actor Bernard Youens, who played Stan, died of a heart attack aged 70. Jean Alexander made her farewell as Rovers cleaner Hilda in 1987.
The actress is now 84 and lives in Southport.
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