The Queen returns to Coronation Street for the first time in nearly 40 years

The Queen today paid a visit to Coronation Street’s famous cobbles, asking if the characters were nice to each other before acknowledging: "I suppose, life’s a trouble isn’t it?"

Her Majesty, 95, described the long-running show as "part of the fabric" of society, saying it was "rather remarkable" that it had been running for 60 years.

She met long-serving cast members including William Roache, 89, who plays Ken Barlow, Barbara Knox, 87, asking the actors which houses they lived in and how long they had worked on the ITV soap.

The Queen looked delighted to be on the famous Manchester set, spending 40 minutes chatting to the cast and crew and even popping into the Rovers Return. The show’s famous theme tune was played as the sovereign walked down the red carpet as the actors cheered and waved Union flags from the sidelines.

The Queen was greeted on set by ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazelgette and managing director of continuing drama John Whiston, who explained to her that the set’s cobbles had been moved from their former set at Granada Studios, she had visited in 1982, to the new set in Trafford.

"They’re the same cobbles?" she asked, incredulously. "You moved it? Oh right."

The first group Her Majesty was introduced to, stood outside the Rovers Return pub, included Roache, Knox, Sue Nicholls, who plays Audrey and Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt, who between them have clocked up more than 200 years on set.

The Queen told her it was "amazing" that the cast and crew had been able to carry on, throughout the pandemic, to which Roache said: "You’re the one who’s carried on."

Knox told the sovereign: "Thank you for coming, you’ve given us all such a lift. You’re like a ray of sunshine. We all absolutely adore you. The world adores you."

She added that she thought the Queen was meant to be Balmoral, on holiday, but the monarch laughed and said: "Not yet."

"It’s very nice to come," she added.

Knox, who was one of three cast members honoured by the Queen in 2010, thanked the monarch effusively for the "lovely" time she had had that day, telling her: "You never forget things like that."

Iain MacLeod, a producer, ushered the Queen along to meet a group of crew members who explained how they filmed six episodes a week.

"There’s quite a lot of work to do," she said. "And you do it every day!"

She was told that one of the crew members used a two-metre stick to ensure everyone stuck to social distancing guidelines.

"So that’s how you do it," she laughed. "It’s probably the simplest way to do it.

"It’s quite difficult to act two metres apart isn’t it?"

Told it often was, as the characters were often embracing each other, she added: "Of course it is."

The Queen was then introduced to the actors who play the Bailey family, Trevor Michael Georges, Vinta Morgan and Ryan Russell, and Kate Spencer, who plays Grace Vickers.

"Where do you live?" the Queen asked them. "Oh I see, you live here."

Georges told her it was the house with the double glazing.

"You’re more modern than most," the Queen smiled.

She asked: "I gather the street is now wider than it was?" and was told that the cobbles had been transferred from the former set.

Spencer warned her not to walk on the cobbles, telling her they were particularly tricky in heels, to which the Queen replied: "I’ve been told. I’d probably better not."

In 1982, the Queen and the Duke’s visit to the set was deemed so significant it was broadcast live on ITV in a special 30-minute episode called The Queen in Coronation Street.

The monarch had first met cast members at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in 1977, when they appeared in a skit at the Silver Jubilee variety show.

The Queen’s visit today comes just months after Coronation Street celebrated its 60th anniversary, making it the world’s longest running drama serial.

The show, a story of the everyday lives of ordinary folk in a northern town, was created by Tony Warren and first screened live at 7pm on December 9, 1960.

More than 10,000 episodes later the programme has seen 57 births, 146 deaths and 131 weddings alongside affairs, murders, secrets and lies.

Its team of 27 writers and 300 staff generate six episodes a week, while the show is broadcast in 105 countries.

The production site is 7.7 acres, making it the biggest single television production facility of its kind in the world.

Royal visits to the Coronation Street set

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, 1982

The Queen and the Duke’s visit to the set was broadcast live on ITV in a special 30-minute episode called The Queen in Coronation Street.

The pair walked down the famous cobbles, chatting to cast members including Mr Roache, Ms Derbyshire, Thelma Barlow, who played Mavis Wilton, the late Anne Kirkbride, who played Diedre Barlow, and Jack Howarth, who played Albert Tatlock.

Jean Alexander, who played Hilda Ogden, removed her famous curlers for the occasion, while Julie Goodyear, who played barmaid Bet Lynch, was said to have told the Duke: "I would pull a pint for you any time."

Prince Charles, 2000

The Prince made a cameo appearance in the soap to help celebrate its 40th anniversary, greeting a cast member at the official opening of new offices in the fictional town of Weatherfield.

During rehearsals for the live evening broadcast, the Prince enjoyed a drink in the Rovers Return.

He chatted with the actors and praised the long-running soap as he laughed and joked his way around the set.

"Having met everybody, I understand why everyone gets so involved in Coronation Street," he said. "It is a wonderful institution in this country."

"The prince's visit has been such an honour," executive producer Jane Macnaught said at the time. "It means the world to us."

Duchess of Cornwall, 2010

The Duchess pulled a pint behind the bar of the Rover's Return during a visit to the Coronation Street set in Manchester in February 2010, marking the programme's 50th anniversary year.

She walked along the cobbles of Weatherfield before stopping at the pub during her tour of the Granada Studios set.

After watching the cast film a scene, she accepted an invitation to try out the beer tap, saying: "I hope I'm not going to spill it. Who is going to drink this afterwards? Any takers?"