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Cheers, chuck! Coronation Street bosses plan a chain of Rovers Returns
Last updated at 17:28pm on 04.03.08Soap fans could soon be able to enjoy Betty's hotpot and a pint of ale in the Rovers Return even without venturing on set.
Bosses at ITV have come up with a plan to bring Coronation Street's fictional pub to high streets all across the country with a themed chain of pubs based on the Rovers Return.
The idea is to cash in on the popularity of the soap and bosses are now looking for a pub operator that could step into the shoes of the Rovers' fictional brewery Newton & Ridley.
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Fancy a pint: Actor Bill Tarmey, who plays Street veteran Jack Duckworth, outside the Rovers Return. ITV is planning a themed chain of the fictional pub
Peter Eyles, the chief executive of pub operator Cross Oak Inns, said he would be "absolutely delighted" to become involved in the idea.
He added: "It sounds a great idea, although we put a big emphasis on the quality of our food, so we'd have to do something about Betty's hotpot."
If the government relaxes a ban preventing the placement of products in TV shows, ITV could allow its pub partner to promote its beer in the soap, in a deal which could be worth £1m a year.
Coronation Street is the most popular programme on British television, with its five weekly episodes, two on Monday and Friday and one on Wednesday, attracting up to 11 million viewers.
Dawn Airey, ITV's managing director, said: "We are absolutely looking to exploit all our brands in a far more commercial and efficient way.
"A huge amount of value lies in big ITV brands like Coronation Street and finding more creative and imaginative ways of exploiting those brands."
Airey is also believed to be looking at marketing a range of cookware for Hell's Kitchen, as well as ways to harness the power of ITV's other popular soap Emmerdale.
ITV is also considering reviving tours of the Coronation Street set, which was once one of the most popular tourist attractions in the North, pulling in 5.25m people in its first year.
The tours were closed at the beginning of the decade, but ITV feels it could revive their popularity if it teamed up with a successful leisure operator such as Madame Tussauds.
