Coronation Street's The Rovers to be sold by Purplebricks

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 7m

Coronation Street's iconic Rovers Return is to go on sale as part of a new storyline that will feature product placement from Purplebricks.

ITV has confirmed details of a new product placement deal that will see Coronation Street's iconic Rovers Return pub sold by online estate agency Purplebricks.

The storyline begins next week when Rovers owner Johnny (Richard Hawley) is released from prison early and returns home to find that his wife Jenny (Sally Ann Matthews) has had an affair with Ronnie (Vinta Morgan).

Johnny decides that their marriage has run his course and makes the shock decision to put the Rovers on the market.

Corrie exec producer Iain MacLeod said: "The upcoming story around the sale of the Rovers Return stems from something exciting that happens between Jenny and Johnny - but it also led to an exciting opportunity to team up with Purplebricks to sell the nation's most iconic pub.

"The presence of a real Purplebricks sign outside adds a little bit of extra realism to a really relatable story between two of our best-loved characters."

Mark Trinder, sales director at ITV, added: "We've successfully integrated product placements into our programmes for a number of years, and Coronation Street has been the most prominent example of this, bringing recognisable brands to viewers.

"This new partnership with Purplebricks gives us an opportunity to do something we've not done before with the agreement tying into one of our major storylines, working closely with the editorial and production teams."

Corrie's most notable product placement deal saw Weatherfield branches of The Co-op and Costa open up on Victoria Street in 2018.