Granada Studios Tour

Infobox Amusement park
name = Granada Studios Tour


caption =
location =Castlefield, Manchester
location2 =
location3 = England
owner = Granada Television
opening_date = 1988
closing_date = 1999
previous_names =
season =
area =
rides = Skytrak

Granada Studios Tour was an entertainment complex in Castlefield, Manchester, England operating from 1988 to 1999. It was situated on Water Street, adjacent to Granada Television's Quay Street complex.

Overview

The exterior of the complex was a New York street setting replicating Times Square, complete with yellow cabs, large neon advertisements and entertainers role-playing Police Officers. This area was the site of the first exterior set of "Coronation Street", used from 1968 until 1982 (chosen for the Victorian viaduct which lay behind the New York facade).

The guided tour itself, which lasted around an hour, comprised various mock sets from Granada productions, including a recreation of Downing Street, the Sherlock Holmes-era Baker Street backlot set from "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" series, and the giant room from "Return of the Antelope", where furniture was designed on a much larger scale to create the illusion of small humans.

In the early days of the Tours, a bus would take you through a mockup of Checkpoint Charlie, and then down Baker Street towards Coronation Street, where you would disembark. This feature was later discarded, and the Baker Street set had a warehouse-style building erected around the outdoor set, creating an indoor street.

The focal point of the tour was the opportunity to walk down the actual cobbled street used in "Coronation Street" since 1982. The tour was closed on Mondays, as this was the day that the set was used for filming.

Live action shows were performed at intervals throughout each day, including a parody of a political debate in the House of Commons chamber set used for "First Among Equals". This set was often used by other television productions wanting to set scenes in the Commons chamber, such as "The New Statesman", and in 2002 was purchased by the scriptwriter Paul Abbott so that it could be used in his BBC drama serial "State of Play". Abbott, himself a former Granada Television staff writer, bought it personally as the set would otherwise have been destroyed and he feared it would take too long to get the necessary money from the BBC. He currently keeps it in storage in Oxford. [Abbott, Paul. Audio commentary on the DVD release of "State of Play". BBC Worldwide. BBCDVD 1493.]

Visitors could also enjoy a drink in a replica of the Rovers Return, the pub in "Coronation Street". In the adjacent cafeteria, a mockup of the bar from "Emmerdale"'s Woolpack was also included.

Other attractions included the opportunity to appear in a special "Coronation Street" scene in the Rovers Return with the main characters, using the chroma key process. Also, a ride named "MotionMaster" was developed whereby people could watch a short adventure film while being strapped into chairs which moved in synchronisation with the action on the large screen. One such film was based upon the film "Aliens", when the squad entered the base in a transporter. Latterly, other rides such as a single-person monorail called a "Solocoaster", and other fairground-style rides were installed, including a 3-D film show. Granada Studios Tour had also featured the shop featured in Sooty & Co..

Closure

As the 1990s drew to a close, the theme park gradually fell into neglect and disrepair, and visitor numbers fell. Granada was going through a period of unprecedented change, and many of the company's divisions were sold off in the wake of the OnDigital fiasco. The tour complex was seen as a loss-making enterprise and plans were made to close it, unbeknownst to the public at large, who always saw the Coronation Street visit as the most important part of the whole complex.

The formation of 3sixtymedia, a joint venture facilities company based primarily at Granada's Quay Street studios and co-owned by BBC Resources and Granada, spelled the final end for the Tours, as the company moved into the Bonded Warehouse on the site, and started using some of the other buildings (such as the Starlight Theatre) for additional studio and warehousing space.

For a short while before its final closure, the complex was open only to pre-booked parties, such as corporate events, fan club visits, and Manchester Mardi Gras' "Treat on the Street", a themed night time event during the August Bank Holiday weekend.

In 2000, one year following its closure, parts of the tour were demolished allowing Granada the opportunity to expand the set of "Coronation Street", to include a new viaduct (to allow filming on Rosamund Street without exposing the Quay Street Studios which run adjacent to the rear of the set), Roy's Rolls café, the renovation of the derelict Graffiti Club into a new medical centre, a new building yard, two shops joining the cafe (Diggory Compton's bakery -originally Sally Webster's hardware store- and Elliott and Son's Master Butchers) and a few new houses. Since the closure of the tour, the exterior set has been seen more often in the soap.

The former Baker Street building was turned into a new studio for "Coronation Street", named Stage Two, containing more studio sets. The Bonded Warehouse, which sits at the end of Coronation Street, and formerly housed most of the tour, now contains new offices, the "Granada Reports" studio and a state-of-the-art newsroom. It could eventually become Granada's only Manchester home, after they move out of the Quay Street building.

Possible Re-opening

In 2008, it was reported that ITV were considering plans to reopen the tour as well as licensing real 'Rovers Returns' pubs. [ [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3471733.ece The Rovers Return is coming to a high street near you - Times Online ] ] However, due to Granada's future location being up in the air, and other factors involving ITV as a whole, it is unlikely that the old site will reopen at all.

References

External links

* [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/ic6/49.html Manchester Online - New York set]
* [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/ic6/19.html Manchester Online - Entrance]
* [http://www.the-manchester-studios.tv 3sixtymedia website]