Tony Warren, the creator of Coronation Street, is being celebrated in a new free exhibition at Salford Museum & Art Gallery.
Running until 3 July, Four Miles from Manchester: Tony Warren’s Coronation Street explores his early life and career through original scripts and other artefacts.
As a child, Tony remembered visiting his grandmother’s house, where he would sit under the table and listen to the speech patterns of his female relatives.
The exhibition will bring these moments to life and will include a replica living room scene from the 1950s-60s, the opportunity to watch the first episode of Coronation Street, and showcase personal items and photographs of Tony Warren brought together for the first time.
1950s Salford was full of terraced houses, cobbled streets, industrial sights and sounds, and this scene is set at the exhibition with specially created paintings by local artist David Coulter, who grew up in the same place and time that Tony Warren did. David’s paintings show his love for cities and capture the atmosphere and grittiness of urban surroundings.
David Tucker of Tony Warren’s estate says: “Tony was an amazing writer and he was a fantastic man who genuinely had an interest in anyone that he encountered.
“His knack for putting everyday drama down on paper and bringing it to life on our TV screens was second-to-none.
“I wanted the items from his career to be shared with the public and not shut away or sold. Tony approved an exhibition before he died. I am sure that he would be as thrilled as I am that it will be in his native Salford.”
