A change is coming (Picture: ITV)

The Rovers Return, the iconic pub that’s been at the heart of the community in Coronation Street since the very beginning, is currently boarded up and empty.

And nobody is feeling the pain of this more than Corrie’s boss, Iain Macleod.

‘Closing it felt almost like a death,’ he revealed. ‘It’s almost as big a deal for me really as any of the people that might have met their sticky end at the hands of Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce). The idea that the pub’s boarded up was horrifying, and even walking up the lot and seeing that it does, it’s like a dagger to the heart.’

The pub was recently rescued from financial ruin by the original brewery chain Newton and Ridley, only for them to be sold off to another company, Waterford Incorporated. It wasn’t long before Waterford’s made the decision to carry out extensive refurbishments on the pub and its doors were closed.

Jenny (Sally Ann Matthews) and her team were left devastated by the loss of their homes and jobs as they watched the windows being boarded up. And without those classic scenes in the Rovers, there’s a real sense that something is missing in Weatherfield.

Luckily, however, those iconic doors will be opening again before too long – though as usual with Corrie it’s all surrounded in drama.

Iain told us more. ‘It reopens on New Year’s Eve I think, but the interesting thing about it is the circumstances of it becoming open again are all tied up with Stephen’s legacy,’ he teased.

Jenny had to close the pub after being unable to balance the books (Picture: ITV)

‘Somebody will do something that is at best naughty, at worst slightly criminal to get their hands on the keys to the pub and reopen it.’

This sets the scene for repercussions to come out later in the new year, he explained.

‘The reopening of it will be based on this slightly shaky foundation of a criminal act, shall we say? So I suppose the viewers will be wondering what disaster will befall the person that’s allowed that to happen, because it’s all based on this misdeed that they’ve committed towards the end of the year.’

Another thing that viewers will be wondering is what the Rovers will look like when it finally reopens. Will Waterford have inflicted a glossy new look? Will Betty’s photo still have pride of place?

The team have been forced to find new jobs (Picture: ITV)

Once again, Iain MacLeod was on hand to provide some reassurance. ‘It’s not going to look radically different,’ he promised. Phew.

‘I think certain sets – and I’m not saying they should never change – but I’d certainly feel like I don’t want it to be modernised and gastropubified or turned into a chain pub.

‘Like I feel weirdly protective of Deirdre’s wallpaper at number one, I do feel like the Rover’s decor is going to be updated a touch. But for the most part, I really like the look and feel of it at the moment. So it’s going to reopen, looking quite similar.’

So it’ll look similar – but perhaps won’t be a place you could go to relax just yet.

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‘The circumstances of its ownership are going to be much more fraught,’ Iain reminded us.

‘We didn’t want it to just open up again and it was like nothing had ever happened. We wanted it to open up with this kind of buried bomb underneath it that we will explode later in the year.’

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