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,
The Riordans on RTÉ. A spin-off series, "Bracken" was launched around "Pat Barry" (Gabriel Byrne), and which featured Irish actor Niall Toibin, Mick Lally and former "Coronation Street" actor Joe Lynch (who had played a lover of the Street's "Elsie Tanner"). After two series, that show was replaced as planned by its own spin-off, "Glenroe", which followed the Lally and Lynch characters as they moved from the fictional townland of Bracken to the outskirts of the fictional town of Glenroe. The axing of "Glenroe" in 2001 brought to an end the tradition of rural soap operas on RTÉ. Since the axing of