Inside derelict and abandoned TV soap sets left to rot
Soaps such as Brookside, Coronation Street and EastEnders have had to make changes meaning sets were left abandoned
Soaps are often an integral part of British television and their sets are etched into people's minds as they remember storylines being played out. But when some much-loved programmes get the axe, or move to a new filming location, the sets are sometimes bluntly forgotten about and left to rot, becoming totally unrecognisable.
From the derelict old Albert Square on BBC's EastEnders to the crumbling former ITV Coronation Street set, many soaps have turned into ghost towns after standing silent and empty for many years. Demolishing a set can be expensive, so if a set is in a location where it can be left relatively undisturbed, it may be cheaper to leave it standing than to tear it down. If the original location is no longer needed for filming, the cost of maintaining the set there may outweigh its value, leading to abandonment, but it results in some sad scenes as the formerly thriving locations are subjected to rotting and being overrun by weeds and wildlife. We take a look at some of the sets impacted.
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EastEnders
Back in 2022, the BBC soap set in the fictional town of Walford decided to up sticks and move to a new location. The original set was built in 1984 from steel frames, plywood, and plaster brick panels and was only intended to be used for two years.
However, the outdated location was causing issues with the camera work as bosses were worried that viewers might notice the fronts of the Queen Vic and its surrounding buildings were made of plaster and plywood when filming in HD. Ultimately, they made the decision to move to a new £86.7million location at the Elstree Centre in Borehamwood.
But now the original set is derelict, with the Queen Vic pub being left to gather dust - with a token dirty pint glass still sitting on the bar. Kath's Cafe has also been gutted, leaving behind marks on the wall and floor where props have been stripped.
Coronation Street
In 2013, ITV's Coronation Street packed up and relocated to another area in Manchester. Eerie photos snapped by The Urban Collective show the decimated set where the Rovers Return used to stand tall ahead of its demolition in 2018.
There was a single cracked Corrie cup left behind as the backs of the red brick terraced houses, which were constructed in 1968, looked completely unrecognisable, gutted and covered in ivy. The soap is now filmed in Salford Quays in part of the Media City complex.
Brookside
The soap, commonly referred to as Brookie, finished in 2003, and the Liverpool-based set has lain empty since then being left to fall to wrack and ruin. Even the famous roadsign advertising the TV street is missing from its posts.
Photos showed weeds growing between pavement slabs as the famous patio which concealed the body of wifebeater Trevor Jordache, played by Brian Murray, was covered in overgrown greenery.
Developers bought the street of real houses in Croxteth, Liverpool, in 2005 and refurbished all 13. They aimed to sell each for up to £300,000 but the sales failed to materialise.
The set was then bought at auction in December 2008 by an anonymous buyer and three years later it was painstakingly restored, so now has real-life residents living in it.
