According to a report in the Radio Times, the network is planning a self-contained show based on characters from 'Coronation Street' and also from the Yorkshire-based rural drama 'Emmerdale'.
John Whiston, the new head of drama at ITV, told the magazine: "We'd use some familiar characters from one of the original soaps to draw an audience to the new show. The BBC did this well with 'Casualty' and 'Holby City' and we've done it well with 'Heartbeat' and 'The Royal'."
According to the report, potential scenarios could include a drama based around Mike Baldwin's Underworld factory, which makes underwear and has been a feature of many storylines since 'Coronation Street' first broadcast in December 1960, or the vets' practice in 'Emmerdale'.
But creating successful soaps is not an easy task. In recent times, ITV has faced the failure of resurrected 'Crossroads', as well as the critically acclaimed 'Night and Day', which launched in November 2001 but was not a hit with audiences, drawing in only 2.5m in the slot previously filled by 'Home and Away'. It was moved to a graveyard slot after six months and was eventually cancelled in May 2003.
'Coronation Street' hit a high last year when an episode in February, which saw serial killer Richard Hillman finally meeting his end by driving into a Manchester canal, attracted 19.4m viewers. More recent episodes have drawn around 11m.
'Coronation Street' currently broadcasts five nights a week, with two episodes on Monday evening.
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