In 1960, the cobbles laid waste to culture's middle-class cobblers

LIKE a bad dose of the runs after a plate of stale hotpot, No10’s tribute to Corrie was as inevitable as it was painful.

- BRIAN READE

“The residents of Weatherfield have entertained us for six fantastic decades with gripping storylines and characters loved by many.

“Coronation Street is not only a great British institution but a place where many across our country feel at home,” tweeted Boris Johnson, presumably after a spin doctor had told him it’s the only telly show, apart from darts, watched by the northern ferret fondlers who voted for him.

Because I’ll wager he’s never seen an episode and only heard about it when someone likened him to Ken Barlow (as in he’s slept with 257 women and is a crashing bore).