Coronation Street budget cuts ‘so obvious' say fans as they spot huge change to Audrey's salon – did you see it?
FANS of Coronation Street have said that the budget cuts have become 'so obvious' to see on-screen.
Longtime viewers of the ITV soap have spotted a huge change to the set of Audrey's salon.
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Helen Worth previously departed Coronation Street last year after five decades in the role as Gail Platt.
However, her on-screen family still remains in Weatherfield as her mother Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) still runs the salon.
She hires two members of staff, her grandson David (Jack P. Shepherd) and Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) to run the shop.
However, one keen viewer took to social media fan forum site Reddit as they noted that the salon nearly always appears to be practically deserted by its once loyal customer base.
In a thread titled, 'The salon is always empty!' the user wrote: "Why was Audrey hiring in the salon?
"There's always no one there. I remember there used to be a good few people sitting in their getting their hair done back in the day.
"I'm playing catchup so I'm way behind. Watching April episodes. This just tickled me. lol."
Viewers think that this is all due to the budget cuts at ITV as execs can no longer afford to pay as many guest actors and extras.
Another user claimed: "Budget-cuts, most-probably, the way ITV's struggling now.
"They probably can't afford guest-characters to fill up the space quite as much as they used to."
While someone else commented: "Oh wow. Things must be bad. It's sad because it just doesn't look realistic. It's always empty."
Meanwhile, more viewers noticed that the barber shop on Victoria Street called Trim Up North has also disappeared from screens.
On the same thread another viewer asked: "What happened to trim up north? That set looked more modern."
A second replied: "Yes. That seems to have just disappeared. Unless I missed a storyline about it."
Corrie cash crisis: shock exits for 2025
ITV bosses are locked in a battle to save the cash-strapped soap.
This means that a number of stars have either been axed from or have abandoned the long-running serial drama.
Colson Smith - Craig Tinker
The character of Craig Tinker has been axed by bosses after 14 years. After he was told of the news in Autumn 2024, Colson Smith confirmed that would be written out of the show with scenes to air later this year. Craig's on-screen mum, Beth Tinker, also left the show in the summer when actress Lisa George was written out from the role.
Sue Cleaver - Eileen Grimshaw
After 25 years playing Eileen Grimshaw, former I'm A Celebrity campmate Sue Cleaver will quit the show. The Sun on Sunday reported in January that she's already begun to film her exit scenes. However the character will not be killed off in case Sue opts to make a return in the future.
Luca Toolan - Mason Radcliffe
Bosses decided to axe the teenage character after just 16 months after he first joined the show. Recent scenes saw Mason stabbed by his criminal brothers after his pal Dylan brought a knife in an attempt to defend him.
Sue Devaney - Debbie Webster
In November 2024, we revealed that Debbie Webster is set to be killed off after 40 years on the cobbles. The character will die as part of a heartbreaking long-running dementia storyline.
Charlotte Jordan - Daisy Midgeley
The actress became the fifth star to leave Coronation Street in just one month. We revealed that she will bow out of the ITV soap later this year after four years on-screen. Charlotte told sources that she's hungry to see what other opportunities await.
Shelley King - Yasmeen Metcalfe
The actress has played Yasmeen Metcalfe on the cobbles for the past 11 years and we revealed in January that she finished filming her final scenes. This follows the departure of her on-screen partner Stu Carpenter.
As a third stated: "I think it closed permanently in January 2023 Could be wrong but sure I remember something along those lInes."
Bosses previously decided to slash the number of established characters in scenes taking place in the iconic Rovers Return pub in a bid to reportedly claw back cash.
Every time actors appear on-screen, they are due a per-episode fee, which can mount up for actors on lucrative deals.
The cash crisis at ITV also prompted an exodus of huge cast members from the hit soap.
Longtime stars such as Sue Cleaver, Colson Smith, Shelley King, and Sue Devaney have either quit or were forced to leave the cash-strapped serial drama.
This comes as ITV has slashed both Corrie and Emmerdale to five 30-minute episodes per week, rather than six.
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