Coronation Street’s Alison King stocks up on food after ITV cut soap to just two episodes per week due to coronavirus crisis
Coronation Street’s Alison King stocked up on food on Wednesday as it was revealed the soap would cut down to two shows a week amid the coronavirus crisis.
The actress, 47, cut a casual figure as she headed to Tesco in Cheshire to do a food shop.
Alison, who plays Carla Connor in the soap, looked sporty in a green padded coat which she layered over a pink hoodie and black leggings.
Hitting the shops: Coronation Street’s Alison King stocked up on food on Wednesday as it was revealed the soap would cut down to two shows a week amid the coronavirus crisis
The soap star teamed the look with Nike trainers, black sunglasses and a cross-body bag.
After perusing the isles for food, Alison headed to her black Land Rover Freelander to put her hoard of shopping in the boot.
Alison, like many others up and down Britain, have been hitting the food shops as more people are forced to work from home or go into self isolation as COVID-19 sweeps across the country.
Stocking up: The actress, 47, cut a casual figure as she headed to Tesco in Cheshire to do a food shop
Casually-clad: Alison looked sporty in a green padded coat which she layered over a pink hoodie and black leggings
The number of people positively diagnosed hit 2,626, up from 1,950 on Wednesday. A total of 56,221 people now have been tested.
ITV soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale are also reducing their number of weekly episodes in a bid to ration shows they’ve already filmed.
A statement from the broadcaster on Wednesday said: ‘The continued transmission of both soaps is a priority to all of us at ITV and to our audiences who enjoy the shows. Whilst carefully adhering to the latest health advice from the Government and Public Health England, our production teams are continuing to film episodes in Manchester and Leeds.
Sporty: The soap star teamed the look with Nike trainers, black sunglasses and a cross-body bag
‘With this change of transmission pattern it will ensure we have great new soap episodes coming to air every weekday night until at least the early summer.’
ITV also confirmed members of the cast aged over 70s are being written out over coronavirus pandemic as bosses ‘adhere to all government guidelines.’
The much-loved ITV soap has seven cast members who are over 70 and who have been advised to stay at home while writers work to remove them from plots going forward.
These include William Roache, 87 (who plays Ken Barlow), Sue Nicholls, 76 (Audrey Roberts), Barbara Knox, 86 (Rita Sullivan), Malcolm Hebden, 80 (Norris Cole), Maureen Lipman, 73 (Evelyn Plummer), Rula Lenska, 72 (Claudia Colby) and Paul Copley, 75 (Arthur Medwin).
Some of them may still appear regularly until mid-May, in scenes that were filmed before the Covid-19 outbreak forced the government to implement draconian measures.
A Coronation Street spokeswoman told The Mirror: ‘With regards to over 70s we will be adhering to all government guidelines and following the appropriate steps.’
AXED: Coronation Street’s over 70s are being written out of the ITV soap over coronavirus pandemic (Pictured L-R: Sue Nichols, 76, William Roache, 87, and Rula Lenska, 72)