Coronation Street boss teases ‘buried bomb will explode’ as the Rovers reopen | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod has confirmed that The Rovers Return will reopen before the new year, but it isn’t going to be smooth sailing for the secret buyer.

Jenny Connor (Sally-Ann Matthews) is set to be heartbroken when she finds out that she has lost the Rovers forever.

In upcoming scenes, Brian Packham (Peter Gunn) breaks the news to Jenny that Waterfords have put the Rovers up for sale and a property developer is hoping to buy it to turn it into flats.

Speaking to Express.co.uk and other press, Iain explained: “The tease would be that we don’t want it shut for that long, it is almost a character in its own right The Rovers.

“Closing it has almost felt like a death I think, it is almost a bigger deal for me really as the people who have met their sticky end at the hands of Stephen Reid [Todd Boyce].

“The idea that the pubs boarded up was horrifying and even walking up the lot and seeing that was like a dagger to the heart so it is not going to stay closed for that long.

“In fact, it reopens on New Year’s Eve I think, but the interesting thing about it is the circumstances of it becoming open again are all tied up with Stephen’s legacy.

“Somebody will do something at best naughty, at worst slightly criminal to get their hands on the keys to the pub and reopen it.

“So it will reopen but it will be based on this slightly shaky foundation of a criminal act shall we say.

“I suppose the viewers will be wondering ‘Ok the pub is open but what disaster will befall the person that has allowed that to happen’.

“Because it is all based on this misdeed that they have committed towards the end of the year. We didn’t want it to just open up again like nothing had ever happened.

“We wanted it to open up with this buried bomb underneath it that will explode later on in the year.”

Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.