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Corrie superfan follows in his father's footsteps

Richard Baker
BBC News
PA Media David Owen stands in front of the Rovers Return Inn on the set of Coronation Street on a sunny day. He has his hands outstretched and is smiling. He wears a black zip-up fleece and a black cap.PA Media
David Owen has led nearly 2,500 Coronation Street Experience tours in Salford

A Coronation Street superfan has followed in his father's footsteps by leading more than 2,500 tours of the long-running soap opera's set.

David Owen, 59, has been running the tours since 2014 and won the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Coronation Street Experience in 2022.

His dad Bill Owen, who died in 2013, was a performer at the Granada Studios Tours on Quay Street in Manchester, where the ITV drama was originally filmed before moving to Salford.

David said of the tours and his late father: "It's a very special connection between us. In many ways, our lives have been intertwined."

PA Media Bill Owens pictured smiling in front of the Rovers Return Inn on the old Coronation Street set. He's wearing a light blue striped suit and straw boater hat.PA Media
Bill Owens worked as a performer at the old Granada Studios Tour in Manchester

David said: "I do feel cheated that I never got to share my tour guide notes with him but I know he would have been incredibly proud.

"I can hear him saying, 'That's my boy'!"

Around the time of his father's death, David said he was made redundant after nearly 30 years in a packing job at a factory.

He said he was inspired to carry on the family legacy.

"My dad was an amazing man – he was a big extrovert and truly my hero," said David.

"I felt very honoured to get the job – one to be following in my father's footsteps, but also to be doing this on such an amazing show."

Coronation Street Studios in Salford is the world's largest single working production set in television.

PA Media Black and white picture of the original cast of Coronation Street. Some are sat on a bench, with some others standing behind. They're wearing long woollen coats and are smiling for the camera.PA Media
The Coronation Street cast in the Granada TV Centre car park in Manchester, between rehearsals for the first programme that was aired on 9 December, 1960

'More than just a TV show'

The Coronation Street experience can see up to 1,000 people visit over a weekend, with tourists coming from as far away as Canada and New Zealand.

"It's more than just a TV show," said David of Corrie. "It's a huge part of British culture."

Even after leading 2,500 tours, David insisted no two were ever alike.

PA Media David stands behind the bar of the Rovers Return Inn. He's wearing a black fleece, black cap and is smiling. His arms lean against the taps of the bar.PA Media
David inside the famous Rovers Return Inn

David recalled one tour which left a pair of New Zealand tourists in tears.

"When we started the tours at Quay Street, the character Hayley Cropper [played by Julie Hesmondhalgh] had died.

"She had a cardboard flowery coffin, we had it in the props display, and these two ladies from New Zealand saw her name on it and they were in tears.

"We didn't know at the time but New Zealand were two years behind in the plot lines, so at the time in New Zealand, Hayley was alive and well!"

The famous cobbles of the Coronation Street set have seen it all over the years.

During one tour, David said he witnessed a proposal outside the Rovers Return.

David said: "They just got a massive round of applause and they were both in tears.

"I was nearly tearing up myself to be honest with you – it was so lovely."

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