Perdita
04-12-2010, 13:08
Coronation Street producer Phil Collinson has said that he is "embracing" the possibility that poor weather conditions could affect the soap's forthcoming live episode.
As snow has hit most of the country in recent days, fans of the ITV1 show have been speculating that the situation could cause continuity problems on the night of the live broadcast.
Next week's dramatic disaster episodes all take place over the course of one night and in real time, meaning that the sudden appearance of snow on the cobbles would not fit in with the ongoing story.
However, speaking at a Coronation Street press conference yesterday, Collinson insisted: "I think that is part of the experience of live. It's why we wanted to do it - and it's why we wanted to do it right in the middle.
"The first episode [of the week] could have been the live one, actually - it's a brilliant episode, it's beautiful and dramatic with amazing performances. But we didn't want to do that - we wanted to put the live episode right in the middle, with fire, explosions, flames, stunts, death and fire engines - just everything we can throw at it. It's amazing, huge and - fingers crossed - astonishing.
"But you know what, that is what live is all about. If it snows, we'll plough on. If it rains, we'll plough on. If something falls out of the sky, we'll plough on regardless. If any of those things happen, the audience will enjoy it even more. That's the business of live and that's what we're embracing."
Coronation Street's hour-long live episode airs on Thursday at 8pm as part of the soap's 50th anniversary celebrations.
As snow has hit most of the country in recent days, fans of the ITV1 show have been speculating that the situation could cause continuity problems on the night of the live broadcast.
Next week's dramatic disaster episodes all take place over the course of one night and in real time, meaning that the sudden appearance of snow on the cobbles would not fit in with the ongoing story.
However, speaking at a Coronation Street press conference yesterday, Collinson insisted: "I think that is part of the experience of live. It's why we wanted to do it - and it's why we wanted to do it right in the middle.
"The first episode [of the week] could have been the live one, actually - it's a brilliant episode, it's beautiful and dramatic with amazing performances. But we didn't want to do that - we wanted to put the live episode right in the middle, with fire, explosions, flames, stunts, death and fire engines - just everything we can throw at it. It's amazing, huge and - fingers crossed - astonishing.
"But you know what, that is what live is all about. If it snows, we'll plough on. If it rains, we'll plough on. If something falls out of the sky, we'll plough on regardless. If any of those things happen, the audience will enjoy it even more. That's the business of live and that's what we're embracing."
Coronation Street's hour-long live episode airs on Thursday at 8pm as part of the soap's 50th anniversary celebrations.