Seeing that a Coronation Street adult colouring book will soon be released made me think about how big the Coronation Street library is. Reams of paper about the fictional town of Weatherfield and its residents. Histories of the show, fictional backstories of the Street, socio-cultural analysis, and more.
It is not just paper. There is merch galore. Documentaries about the show and spin-off movies. Collectibles, from t-shirts to Lilliput house miniatures. Games and quiz books. Everything you could want to back up your fandom is available.
The old Granada Studios had a Coronation Street gift shop. Arrayed in front of you was everything Corrie. Books and cards. Tea towels featuring Ena Sharples. Hilda Ogden’s plaster ducks. Rovers Return teapots. Dinnerware sets with a small Rovers Return on the rims. It was heaven. Now almost everything can be found online. I could not find the dinner sets, though, despite searching high and low.
What’s online
Here’s some of what is, or has been, available. My list is not exhaustive: 60 plus years has produced a huge Coronation Street library. To see everything Corrie on Amazon.ca, click Coronation Street Merch
or use my links below for specific items. I will add items as I find them. All links are to Amazon Canada unless otherwise noted. If something is no longer available, I may still leave the link there – just so you know that it exists somewhere in the world.
Books
Teaching TV Soaps – Louise Alexander and Alison Cousens, 2008 British Film Institute.
“Combining challenging theory with accessible and practical teaching ideas.”
Other Worlds: Society seen through soap opera – Dorothy Anger, 1999 Broadview. To my knowledge, the only comparative study of US and UK soaps and their audiences. (U of T Press).
Phelan: The mind of a killer – Derek Bray, 2017 Kindle Edition. “Pat Phelan himself is used as the narrator of this bizarre story.” An Unofficial Coronation Street Companion Book.
Unbroken: My story of survival – Beverley Callard, 2010 Hodder & Stoughton. The autobiography of the actor who plays Liz McDonald.
Acting in British Television – Tom Cantrell and Christopher Hogg, 2017 Palgrave. Soaps, police and medical dramas, comedies and period dramas – including Julie Hesmondhalgh interview (Hayley).
Coronation Street Cookbook – 
Graeme Carlisle, 1992 Random House UK. “Traditional Lancashire pies and puddings to Jim McDonald’s Irish stew and Mike Baldwin’s bubble and squeak.”
The Ultimate Unofficial Coronation Street Quiz Book – Ed Cobham 2010 Summersdale. “…these brain-teasing questions will be right up your street!”
Coronation Street, The Official Colouring Book: Colour classic scenes from the show’s history – 45 scenes to colour, $14.99, ITV 2016
Vera Duckworth: My story – Liz Dawn and Stafford Hildred, 1994 Hushion House.
Coronation Street – Richard Dyer (ed.) 1981 British Film Institute. An essential collection of analyses for students of popular culture.
50 Years of Coronation Street: The (Very) Unofficial Story – Sean Egan, 2013 Aurum Press. The show’s history, the British soap industry it spawned, its reflection of real life, audiences, and actors.
Reflections on the Times and Life of William ‘Bill’ Roache – Rob Goodfellow et al., 2022 Atebol. “Entertaining and informative reflective biographical account of the times and life of Bill Roache.”
The Way to Victory: Continuing the enthralling saga of the Street at war – Christine Green, 2000 Andre Deutsch. The story before the series.
Coronation Street: The complete saga – Katherine Hardy
, 2008 Granada Media. The epic novel of over 40 years of life on the Street. (She has written other tv novelizations and also writes as Catrin Collier.)
Behind the Laughter – Sherri Hewson, 2011 Harper. The life story of the actress who played Maureen Holdsworth.
The Road to Weatherfield: From song & supper room to Coronation Street – Barry Hill, 2014 Paragon. A scriptwriter’s career and the British entertainment industry.
Soap Opera – Dorothy Hobson, 2003 Polity. An essential for understanding British soaps: history, genre and audiences. Also her study of Crossroads.
Coronation Street: 30 years – Graeme Kay, 1990 Boxtree. One of the ‘anniversary’ books. Behind the scenes stories, characters, year by year story summaries, cast lists.
60 Years of Coronation Street: The incredible story of Britain’s favourite continuing drama – Abigail Kemp, 2020 Hamlyn. Release Oct. 27th, hardback and Kindle. Woohoo!
Elsie Tanner Fights Back – H. V. Kershaw, 1977 Mayflower. (Text link goes to this and other books by the early writer and producer: The Street Where I Live, Early Days, Trouble at the Rovers.)
40 Years of Coronation Street – Daran Little, 2000 Andre Deutsch Ltd. An ‘anniversary’ book by the show’s archivist. Story highlights, cast info. etc.
Coronation Street: Around the houses – Daran Little, 1998 Boxtree (Former Coronation Street archivist and writer). Backstories of occupants of houses and businesses.
Weatherfield Life: A portrait of Coronation Street – Daran Little and Bill Hill, 1994 Index/Granada. Life on the Street from 1902, when it was “built” to 1960 when the show began.
Daran Little has written many books on the history of Coronation Street and Weatherfield. Click to see his other books
on Amazon Canada.
The Women of Coronation Street – Daran Little, 1998 Boxtree. The lives of Corrie’s women and how their characters and stories fit into the show’s structure.
Street Talk: The language of Coronation Street – Jeffrey Miller, 1986 CBC Enterprises. A collectible, and useful, guide to the slang of the North of England.
Encyclopedia of Television – Horace Newcomb (ed.) 1997 Routledge. Analyses of television, including Corrie, collected for Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communication.
Coronation Street: The inside story – Bill Podmore, 1990 MacDonald. Mr. Podmore was a director on the show in the 1960s, producer in the 1970s and executive producer in the 1980s.
Fifty Years of Coronation Street – Tim Randall, 2010 Headline. Foreword by Tony Warren. Profiles of characters, interviews with actors, history of show, etc.
The Rovers Return: The official Coronation Street Companion – Tim Randall, 2013. Hardcover. History of pub, staff and patrons.
Christmas on Coronation Street – Maggie Sullivan (Hardcover & Kindle). 2018 HarperCollins. Story of Elsie Grimshaw Tanner, before and during WWII.
Mother’s Day on Coronation Street – Maggie Sullivan (Hardcover & Kindle) 2018 HarperCollins. 1940, WWII, Annie Walker runs the Rovers after husband Jack enlists.
Coronation Street: A fully-illustrated record of television’s most popular series – Jack Tinker, 1987 Littlehampton. Great collectible, by long-time Daily Mail theatre critic.
The Lights of Manchester – Tony Warren (Kindle). 1992 Random House. The first novel by Coronation Street‘s creator. Different characters, same city, same clever writing.
Pulling Myself Together – Denise Welch 2010 (hardcover, paper and Kindle) Part of the life story of the actress who played Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes.
Starting Over – Denise Welch 2012 (hardcover, paper and Kindle) More of the actor’s life, after a divorce, tabloid gossip and a stalker!
The Unwelcome Visitor: Depression and how I survive it – Denise Welch 2020 (hardcover, Kindle and audio) “The book that Denise Welch wished for as she found herself exhausted…”
The Great Northern Cookbook – Sean Wilson
, 2013 Hodder & Stoughton. By the owner of the Saddleworth Cheese Co., formerly Martin Platt on Corrie.
The Little Book of Carla Connor – Glenda Young (Kindle) 2016. “A decade in the life of a soap queen: An unofficial Coronation Street companion book.”
Click for Glenda Young’s other Coronation Street books and show updates (Deirdre; A Perfect Duet; Norman Bates with a Suitcase).
DVDs
The Coronation Street Album – “A musical journey down the world’s best loved street” Cliff Richards & Denise Black, Amanda Barrie, Sherrie Hewson, Bill Tarmey, et al.
Coronation Street: Funk Fit – “Dance your way to a FITTER, SHAPLIER YOU” with Tina O’Brien (Sarah Platt), Nikki Sanderson (Candice Stowe) and LucyJo Hudson (Katy Harris). Yesss!
A Knight’s Tale – Mary and Norris have a medieval-themed weekend away. They are joined by former Street residents Richard Hillman, Reg Holdsworth and Curly Watts.
Out of Africa – 2009, the Battersby-Browns and Kirk go to South Africa on holiday. Spoiler: South Africa survives.
Road to Coronation Street – “Delightful dramatization of how Coronation Street came into being.” Sunday Telegraph. Very true, very good.
Romanian Holiday – 2010, Roy and Hayley go to Romania for a friend’s wedding. Becky joins them. Romania survives.
Click for more Coronation Street DVDs.
Collectibles
Coronation Street by Eric Spear, recorded by Geoff Love and his Orchestra on Columbia DB 4627, 1961 Mercury Music Co. London. Wow! (not available May 2023)
The Corner Shop, Coronation Street – Lilliput Lane. Expensive, but a Lilliput Miniature. They are all lovely and this series is of buildings we know well. (Unavailable on Amazon as of Dec. 2022, but check out FindMyLilliputLane.)
Mike Baldwin Figure- A Mini-Mike! Corgi Icon Figure, in box. 1:32 scale, 3″ or 7.5 cm high. (Not available on Amazon May 2023, but check eBay etc.) They also made other Corrie characters.
Steve McDonald/Simon Gregson Mask. You can be Steve if you wish. Or Deirdre, Ken, Kevin – even the previous Nick, Adam Rickett, with Scribz UK’s celebrity card masks. (No longer on Amazon.ca but available elsewhere.)
T-shirt – Coronation Street Logo 100% cotton, S-4XL, $22-25, by CafePress
Other Coronation Street tees available include “Keep Calm, Put Corrie On,” Barlow family, and many Michelle Keegan (Tina) photo shirts.
Games
Coronation Street Ringtone Not a game, but perhaps an essential for your phone? The Corrie theme for your ringtone and alerts.
Coronation Street Trivia Board Game DVD, over 700 questions in 6 categories, goes up to about 2010 in storyline. (Unavailable May 2023)
Coronation Street: Words and Design. An app for a word and design game based on Corrie characters and locations.
Libel – by William Roache, Mambi Games Ltd. 
“The game was devised by William Roache after he sued the SUN newspaper for printing a defamatory article about his portrayal of Ken Barlow” (gameboardgeek.com). (Dec/22 not on Amazon but is on eBay.)
Life at the Rovers 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Also “Double Acts” jigsaw. Both by Falcon de Luxe. (Unavailable as of Dec. 2022.)
