Queen has a look inside the Rovers Return on visit to Coronation Street

Two much-loved and long-running British institutions united as the Queen visited the set of Coronation Street.

The cobbles of Weatherfield have seen a host of famous faces but for only the second time the head of state walked down the street, home to the ITV soap, celebrating its 60th year on our screens.

On a 40-minute tour of the set and studios, the royal visitor, wearing a teal Angela Kelly outfit with matching hat, met a host of cast and crew of the show, walking beside the cobbled street before popping into the studio where the interior of the Rovers Return is filmed.

The Queen began her tour with four actors who between them have more than 200 years service on the show.

Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, Barbara Knox who is cast as Rita, Sue Nicholls who plays Audrey and Helen Worth known to millions of soap fans as Gail, greeted the Queen with bows and curtsies outside the Rovers Return.

Roache told the Queen he had first seen her when she visited Jamaica in 1963, when he was serving as an officer with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

He added: “Thank you so much for coming today.”

Knox told the Queen when she first arrived: “Good morning, your majesty, you have brought the sunshine.

“You know you are like a ray of sunshine.

“And you’ve given us all such a lift (with) you coming, thank you very very much indeed.

“We all absolutely adore you, the world adores you.”

The Queen, who asked how they had managed to keep filming during the pandemic, replied: “It’s really marvellous you’ve been able to carry on”, and Roache replied to laughter: “Well, ma’am, you’re the one who has carried on.”

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