It’s the second home to many of the street’s most famous residents
Coronation Street fans couldn’t help but revisit a previous joke about what the future could hold for the Rovers Return could if the iconic venue were to close.
It is the second home to many of the street’s most famous residents, and the iconic boozer wouldn’t be the same with the legendary landladies ruling the roost and ringing the bell – from Annie Walker and Bet Lynch to Vera Duckworth, Liz McDonald and now Jenny Connor.
But fans of the ITV soap will recall that at the end of 2023 and into early 2024, the Rovers and its staff faced a tumultuous time. The pub experienced a period of closure after landlady Jenny was forced to sell up.
A result of crippling costs amid the Cost of Living crisis, Jenny sold the beloved pub to Newton and Ridley and all seemed well as she was able to continue running the pub with the help of her staff.
But, it was then revealed that Newton and Ridley were being sold to another company, Waterford Incorporated, and as a result, they all lost their jobs.
The weeks kept passing as the pub underwent refurbishment and it was left empty of customers for a while before Daisy Midgeley came up with a cunning plan.
After serial killer Stephen Reid’s shock death, after some digging, Daisy found Stephen’s journal which was dumped by his mother Audrey Roberts. After studying his notes and scribbles, Daisy figures out the password for the account holding the significant amount of money he had stolen from Carla Connor’s factory, Underworld.
A panicked Jenny didn’t know what to do but Daisy managed to convince her that they should use the hidden lump sum to buy the pub back but she promised Jenny they’d pay Carla back every penny. So the pair brought back the Rovers and agreed to be secret co-owners, however, Daisy’s co-ownership has since been uncovered and the pair claimed they got the money from her mother, Christina, after the bank turned down their loan application.
But the truth about where they got the money was first nearly exposed by Christina, who actually kept up the lie in a power move over her daughter. In the end though, it was Bethany Platt’s digging that unravelled Daisy and Jenny’s lies and Carla eventually found out what really happened to her money.
Jenny vowed to pay Carla back instalments but when Carla fell ill earlier this year and was told she needed another kidney transplant, Carla demanded Jenny and Daisy pay her as she needed to cash to help facilitate her prisoner brother, Rob, being a donor.
And talk about the Rovers’ future was recently revisted after Colson Smith seemingly ‘gave away’ a future storyline as he took to social media with a behind-the-scenes snap from his last day. The actor officially filmed his final scenes on March 21.
He took to social media with a picture from his car that showed the ITV building in front of him. Colson, who is famed for playing Craig Tinker in the long-running show, could be seen listening to the Macy Gray track ‘I Try’ as he captioned the post: “The Last Dance,” with a hand making a heart emojis and an orange heart icon.
Having seemingly confirmed his last day on the famous cobbles, Colson returned to Instagram with a snap in which he could be sitting above the iconic Rovers Return sign.
Alongside the post, the 26-year-old, who has spent almost 14 years in the role, simply issued a seven-word message which read: “CORONATION STREET I LOVE YOU, THANK YOU.”
But the picture has quickly been picked up by eagle-eyed fans who have spotted a ‘for sale’ sign just peaking into the shot, seemingly suggesting the iconic boozer will soon be in new hands.
One said: “Colsons last day yesterday at Corrie BUT can we spot the FOR SALE SIGN!!!!! #Swarla #Corrie.” Another shared: “Spotted by @swain_r00ney, the Rovers Return is UP FOR SALE #Corrie.” A third wrote: “Omg what is this? Swarla duet it the Rovers when?? #corrie #swarla.”
But some are sad about the changes. A fan commented: ” “Nooo I’m devastated, what does this mean for Jenny?” Another echoed: “Gutted it’s back up for sale.”
Now, with all the talk about the Rovers, The Talk of the Street, aka @CorriePodcast, could help but take to social media with a snap that previously circulated online showing chicken restaurant chain Nandos in the spot the beloved pub used to be. They commented: “Every time there’s chat of the Rovers closing down… #corrie.”
And it quickly racked up a response. @mikepriestley13 said: “Not going to lie it would be interesting if the rovers became another business because in real life the size of the pub and the small amount of customers they have in the real world the pub would shut down and demolished.”
@sapphicswarla replied: “I just know betsy swain would love a cheeky nandos.” @Ellie131908 suggested: “Like all good pubs it will become a Tesco Express or a Co-Op.” @_Rimal echoed: “Realistically it would be a co-op or Tesco express! Dev wouldn’t be happy with the competition to his food outlets.” But @monkeygirl1939 added: “Leave the pub alone.”