Like father like son - Corrie superfan follows in late dad's tour guide footsteps
A Corrie superfan has followed in his late father's footsteps and led more than 2,500 tours of the famous TV set visited by thousands each weekend.
David Owen, 59, has been leading Coronation Street tours, which were first operated from the old Granada Studios in Quay Street before moving to the current ITV Studios at Media City, since 2014. His late father, Bill Owen, worked as a performer at the old Granada Studios tour for several years, but sadly died in 2013 before David started working there – meaning he 'never got a chance to compare notes with him'.
David has been determined to continue his father's legacy, however, and has been leading the 90-minute tours at The Coronation Street Experience at ITV Studios, the world's largest single TV production site, every weekend. He has witnessed tears from guests and a recent proposal during his tours, and said he loves 'seeing the joy it brings to visitors of all ages'.
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Speaking about his late father, David, from Dukinfield, Tameside, said: "It's a very special connection between us – in many ways, our lives have been intertwined.
"I do feel cheated that I never got to share my tour guide notes with him, as he passed away in 2013, just before I started at Quay Street, but I know he would have been incredibly proud. I can hear him saying, 'That's my boy'."
David explained that he has loved Coronation Street for 'as long as (he) can remember'. He recalls watching the 'topical' TV soap with his parents during his childhood in the 1960s and 1970s, and loving the 'northern humour'.
He said: "For people of my vintage, it was always a family thing to watch Coronation Street. Back in the day, it was only Mondays and Wednesdays at 7.30pm, both half an hour episodes.
"I'd sit down with mum and dad, they had two chairs in the living room, and I'd sit in between them on the floor watching Coronation Street."
David said he remembers characters such as Jack Walker, who was the landlord of the Rovers pub, and Albert Tatlock, who was Weatherfield's resident war veteran. He even remembers one specific episode from 1971, which left him unable to sleep for weeks.
He said: "There is one episode from 1971 when the character Valerie Barlow got electrocuted by a plug. The socket of a plug fell off and she was electrocuted – it was a hair dryer plug – and it frightened me to death, and it kept me away from plug sockets for years."
Growing up, David said he loved watching the 'strong women' in the show, including characters like Annie Walker, Elsie Tanner and Ena Sharples, and one of his current favourites is Glenda Shuttleworth. He said the 'writing is absolutely brilliant' and, given the show references real places near his hometown, he has felt personally connected to it.
Moreover, his late father Bill worked at the Granada Studios tour in Quay Street, where the old Coronation Street set was located, further inspiring his love for the soap.
"My dad was an amazing man – he was a big extrovert and truly my hero," David explained. "He worked at Granada Studios for many years... but unfortunately, when I started doing guided tours there in 2014, he had not long passed away, so I never got a chance to compare notes with him."
Bill passed away in 2013, aged 71, and, around this time, David was made redundant after nearly 30 years in a factory packaging job. He was looking for new opportunities and stumbled across a job advert for the Coronation Street tours and decided to "go for it" – and he was successful.
He then started leading tours at the Quay Street site in 2014 before working from the current ITV Studios location in 2018.
"It's quite surreal the way it worked out," David said. "I felt very honoured to get the job – one to be following in my father's footsteps, but also to be doing this on such an amazing show."
David believes he has led around 2,500 tours for The Coronation Street Experience to date – and he has no plans of stopping anytime soon. David, who won the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Coronation Street Experience in 2022, said "no two tours are ever alike" – and although he has a script to follow, he enjoys injecting his own humour and personality into it.
He said he runs three tours on a Saturday and Sunday, and guests from all over the world, including New Zealand and Canada, visit the set. On each day over a weekend, the site can see an average of 1,000 people visiting.
Recalling one memory which left two women from New Zealand very emotional, he said: "When we started the tours at Quay Street... the character Hayley Cropper had died after suffering from pancreatic cancer. She had a cardboard flowery coffin, and we had it in the props display, and these two ladies from New Zealand saw her name on it and they were in tears.
"We didn't know at the time, but New Zealand were two years behind in the plot lines, so at the time in New Zealand, Hayley was alive and well."
Most recently, David witnessed a proposal outside the Rovers pub during one of his tours – and he said it was 'lovely' to see.
"They just got a massive round of applause, and they were both in tears," he said. "I was nearly tearing up myself to be honest with you – it was so lovely."
David said seeing people's enthusiasm gives him 'such a buzz' and he aims to give every guest 'the best tour possible'. He said leading tours for The Coronation Street Experience, which is operated by Continuum Attractions, is 'an honour' and he hopes to one day feature as an extra in the show.
"It's more than just a TV show – it's a huge part of British culture," he said.
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