The Road to Coronation Street on the set next door to the real life "Coronation Street" set, who were also filming. The role of Tony Warren, "Coronation Street"s creator and writer, was given to actor David Dawson. "Coronation Street"s producer, Canadian-born Harry Elton, was played by Christian McKay. Casting director Margaret Morris and her young assistant Josie Scott, who befriends Warren, were played by Jane Horrocks and Sophia Di Martino, respectively. Derek Bennett, the director, was portrayed by Shaun Dooley, while Sidney Bernstein was played by Steven Berkoff. Jessie Wallace was given the role of Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie Tanner in "Coronation Street". Wallace,
Coronation Street soaps which often used straight-to-video films to cover more contentious plot lines that may not be allowed by the broadcaster, "Coronation Street" has largely used these films to reset their characters in other locations. In 1995, "Coronation Street: The Cruise" also known as "Coronation Street: The Feature Length Special" was released on VHS to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the show. ITV heavily promoted the programme as a direct-to-video exclusive but broadcast a brief version of it on 24 March 1996. The Independent Television Commission investigated the broadcast, as viewers complained that ITV misled them. In 1997, following the controversial