After a filming session on 11th April, scenes shot in Blackpool were aired on ITV’s long-running soap opera Coronation Street on Monday 16th May. This included a brief appearance by Flexity 015 which was used for a stunt which almost saw a young character knocked down after running onto the tram tracks.
The boy was pushed out of harm’s way by the character Jenny Bradley, who is the daughter of Alan Bradley who was of course famously killed by Balloon 710 many years ago. Happily this time no serious harm was done and the tram was able to continue on its journey whilst the cast all returned to Weatherfield alive and well. Hopefully these scenes will remind viewers of the dangers of trams and other vehicles, and the need to supervise small children to prevent such incidents from happening.
As mentioned previously, 015 was adorned with images of various Blackpool landmarks along its roof side panels for its starring role to cover up its advertisements although these were hardly visible during its brief appearance on screen. Rather annoyingly, the train-like whistle sound made by Manchester Metrolink trams was dubbed over one scene, rather than use the Flexity’s own warning signal, but presumably not many people watching would have known or cared about such matters!
It seems trams are given a bad image by the soaps – a Metrolink accident that never happened, killing on the Blackpool promenade and now this. When are they going to stop presenting trams as lethal, and when are we going to get some positive images for trams instead?
So a kiddy runs in front of a Flexity, the driver slams the emergency brake on, the woman pushes the kiddy out of the way and saves herself just in time. And the driver merely smiles and drives on his way, he doesn’t even get out of his cab to see if they are ok! Surely an incident like that would have led to the closure of the system while an investigation was carried out (CCTV on board the tram to be viewed?) etc etc and the driver taken off shift, interviewed and assessed?
No, that is exactly what would have happened. The Tram did not hit anyone so therefore there is no investigation. What would have hapened is the driver would probably have made sure everyone on his Tram was OK but that doesn’t make good telly!
Why would the great palava you describe occur? Nothing happened. Do you have a full police investigation whenever you have to slam on your brakes for a kid on a bike? We need to cut red tape not add it in where its not needed!
All Granada needed to do was NOT show the driver setting off again all smiles. There were no “aftermath” shots after the Balloon mowed down Alan Bradley. I would not like to have been a standee on that Flexity.
I agree wholeheartedly with that. I suspect it was to show all was nice and well – but as you say best to just not show it.
They can be lethal especially in Metrolink’s case around Piccadilly Manchester. What make things worse is that there are now so many people wandering about with stupid earphones in and looking at their mobiles makes them oblivious to what is coming towards them.
They are in their own little world!
It’s lack of awareness, not trams that are to blame. I saw a man push a wheelchair into the path of an oncoming tram in Croydon, but I expect he would have done it with a bus as well.
can we just check…..
the writers above do all realise this was a work of FICTION and not an item on the local news program don’t they??
The perception of most viewers of soaps is that they are mirror reality with a bit of dramatic compression and the use of cliffhangers (or is it duff-duffs?) to keep viewers on the edge of their seats; the tram flying off the viaduct and landing on the Bistro and the Kabin was pure fantasy. As Rita Fairclough said when she scrambled out of the wreckage of the Kabin, “What is it about me and trams?” Perhaps the balance has been redressed a little in Weatherfield as the latest pile-up unearthing the dead body in the Platt’s house didn’t involve a tram but a recovery truck.