Coronation Street's iconic Rovers Return set to go up for sale

The iconic Rovers Return is set to go up for sale on the ITV soap, with a well known estate agent tasked with selling the pub.

This summer Johnny will put the pub up for sale after realising his marriage to Jenny is over.

Purplebricks will sell the pub as ITV launch a short-term product placement partnership linked to the sad storyline.

Iain MacLeod, Coronation Street Series Producer, 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.”

Ben Carter, Purplebricks CMO, said: “We are delighted to work with Coronation Street to ‘sell’ a true British television icon like the Rovers Return.

"It’s a fantastic opportunity for the Purplebricks brand to be seen by millions of TV viewers and we look forward to getting it ‘sold’ like we do for thousands of homes across the country every year.”

Mark Trinder, ITV Director of Commercial Sales and Partnerships, said: “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.”

First broadcast in 1960, Coronation Street is the longest-running soap in the world and the most watched soap in Britain.

Product placement (PP) was introduced on television in the UK in 2011 and ITV led the way with the very first PP on British screens.

In the same year the first peak time product placement was introduced in Coronation Street and in 2018 ITV unveiled its biggest Product Placement on British TV with Costa Coffee and Co-op storefronts as part of the new extended Weatherfield set.