CORONATION Street has an army of more than ten million regular viewers, including some very famous faces.
Celebrity fans include ex-Brookside star Anna Friel, cricket ace Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff, telly presenter Paul O'Grady, rocker Noel Gallagher and X Factor beauty Cheryl Cole.
To celebrate Corrie's 50th anniversary, TV golden girl Cilla Black reveals to KATE JACKSON why she's been hooked on the soap from the very first episode.
ON Friday, December 9, 1960, my family and I settled on the sofa and tuned into the first episode of Coronation Street, not knowing what to expect.
There had been no great hoo-ha about the new programme, no blowing of trumpets like there is today with X Factor or I'm A Celebrity. I don't even remember there being many adverts about it. But there were only two channels back then so we thought we would give it a go.
Well, right from that very first sound, that theme tune that is so recognisable today, we knew it was going to be something different.
Then hearing those characters speak in Manchester accents was just wonderful.
Remember this was at a time when TV was in black and white and everyone on it either talked terribly posh or, if they had a regional accent, then it was Cockney.
This was when newsreaders would wear a black jacket and bow tie. So we were absolutely gobsmacked to see ordinary, northern people in a show.
"My God," we thought, "we've been recognised at last. Not everyone talks like the Queen or Barbara Windsor."
The funny thing was there was a scene with David Barlow and his dad and they were mending a puncture on a bike in their front room. And my dad was doing exactly the same thing in our sitting room.
These people really were just like us.
I was 17 and I had just started my new job as a clerk typist and I was singing in clubs around Liverpool in the evenings.
I would get home from work at 5pm, have my tea at 6pm and then I would get ready to go out to sing with Coronation Street on in the background.
Just like people used to watch Blind Date while they got ready to go on a night out, I used to have Corrie.
The popularity of the show was obvious in how it influenced us in our real lives.
When Elsie Tanner got married, she went to Albufeira in Portugal for her honeymoon. So we all went there.
"Well, Elsie Tanner spent her honeymoon there," we thought. "It's got to be good."
There's a famous story about Sir Cliff Richard and he will tell it himself.
Minnie Caldwell was sitting in the snug in Corrie's Rovers Return and one of Cliff's songs must have been on the jukebox because she said something like: "Oh, I do love that chubby Cliff Richard."
And I swear to God, he went on a diet after that and he's never been off it since. All because of Minnie Caldwell.
Right from the start, Coronation Street had such a strong cast. I loved that trio of women who would drink milk stout in the Rovers - Ena Sharples, Minnie Caldwell and Martha Longhurst.
Ena was a real battleaxe and she was always arguing. That was something else that was different, you never saw people arguing on the telly before.
When she used to call Elsie Tanner a trollop, well, that's real life. That's what happens every day and it was wonderful to see it portrayed so perfectly on telly.
Of course, Ken Barlow was a pin-up then. Oh my gosh, everyone fancied him.
Then there was Betty in the pub, and she's still there now. I've grown up with her and yet I'm the one who's ageing and she just looks the same. I want to know what she's on!
That's the secret of The Street - brilliant characters. Like David Platt now, played by Jack P Shepherd. He's become a real bad 'un, the one you love to hate.
The women characters have always been strong. That's what northern women are like. They're the backbone of the family.
Look at Audrey. She's always there for Gail and the family. And Blanche, who was Deirdre's mum, was a wonderful character. You couldn't have found a better person to play Blanche than the late Maggie Jones. She looked exactly like Deirdre.
Whoever was casting must have thought they had died and gone to heaven when Maggie turned up. Some of the things Blanche would say were really horrible, but she got away with it and you thought: "Good on you for saying what you think."
Coronation Street makes you laugh but it also makes you cry.
I was out of the country when Jack Duckworth passed away recently and I had to stop my friends from telling me exactly what happened and spoiling it for me. I wanted to watch it myself.
Thank goodness for the omnibus, that's what I say. I settled in on the Saturday after I returned and before long I was crying my eyes out. It was so beautifully done, with Vera's chair and Matt Monro singing Softly As I Leave You in the background, then Vera's ghost coming back to him.
On paper, you might think that was a bit too much. But that's the secret. They do the drama really well without gilding the lily.
I wept buckets when Hilda Ogden left too. I remember she would sing things like Somewhere Over the Rainbow in such a warbling voice she would sound like a little budgie. And Fred "I say, I say" Elliott was a big loss too. That's another thing, they've all got their little sayings that really makes them loveable characters.
I remember being horrified by Alan Bradley's death, when he was hit by a tram in Blackpool. Funnily enough, Mark Eden who played Bradley, is married to Sue Nicholls in real life, She plays Audrey.
And I remember how awful it was when Emily's husband Ernest was shot dead in an armed robbery.
There have been a lot of deaths, haven't there? I've been reading about this terrible tram crash that's going to happen and I'm mortified. What's going to happen to that new baby, Kevin Webster's love child?
I'm playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella in Aylesbury this year, so I'm hoping I'll get to tune into Corrie for the tram crash. If not, it'll be the omnibus again.
You have to tune in for the big events. But otherwise Coronation Street really is a soap where you can go away for a few weeks and still dive back in and quickly grasp what's going on. It's like putting on a very comfortable pair of slippers.
When my children were younger they would have no choice but to watch it. Thankfully my late husband Bobby was a fan, too. He had control of the zapper in our house so I'm glad he liked Corrie just as much as me.
My absolute favourite way to enjoy it now is to cosy up on the sofa and open a bottle of champagne. All the people in the Rovers are having a drink, so I'll have a glass myself. And I go mad if they take it off or move it to an obscure time to make way for the football. Don't get me wrong, I love the football but don't mess with Corrie.
I actually presented a special programme for the 30th anniversary. I filmed an interview with Jack and Vera - and all we did for 15 minutes was laugh.
They are two very funny people who don't know how funny they are and I was absolutely crying with laughter.
We couldn't use any of the interview, but it was hysterical. I still get starstruck if I meet any of the cast. To me, they are like royalty. Northern royalty.
My life's ambition would be to be an extra on an episode. The offer hasn't been forthcoming yet unfortunately, but I would absolutely love it if I could.
To say I've been in Coronation Street, well, I would die happy.
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