Coronation Street set to air its first Covid-19 storyline with nurse Aggie Bailey

Coronation Street is set to air its first storyline surrounding the coronavirus pandemic next week.

In the upcoming scenes, nurse Aggie Bailey – played by Lorna Laidlaw, will be separated from her family while she works on the NHS frontline.

One of Aggie’s colleagues at the hospital starts showing Covid-19 symptoms with the nurse, and her fellow co-workers, forced to self-isolate in a hotel.  

And to make matters worse, the family’s car stops working resulting in Aggie having to use public transport for work.

Aggie’s husband, Ed Bailey – played by Trevor Michael Georges, is left concerned for his wife, especially as they were set to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

Yet everyone on the cobbles come together to show their support for Aggie and her dedication to the NHS frontline. 

Mechanic, Abi Franklin – played by Sally Carman, lets Aggie borrow Kevin Webster’s car, which is being fixed in the garage, for her commute to the hospital. 

While her husband Ed throws a sweet virtual party to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary complete with a romantic dinner. 

The spoiler comes after Coronation Street filmed what is likely the world’s first socially distanced stunt after lockdown restrictions were lifted. 

The high-stakes scene saw Gary Windass (Mikey North) push Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) out of the way of a speeding car.

To avoid contact between the actors and to adhere to the UK’s social distancing guidelines, a mannequin was dressed in Sarah’s clothes and used in place of Tina in certain shots. 

The stunt was originally scheduled to be filmed on location, in the woods, but this was also amended in the interest of safety for the cast and crew. 

It comes after the soap had to delay a big stunt due to the coronavirus and it now will likely not take place until 2021.

Showrunner John Whiston said the big event would involve almost everyone in Weatherfield but he was not sure it would be ready in time for the show’s 60th anniversary.

Speaking to The Sun Online, he said: ‘What we’ve had to strip out of our planning for the 60th was some of the bigger Hollywood-style elements, because after lockdown we didn’t have the time to build and install all of the things we originally planned to do.

‘So we’ve peeled that all away, and much to my immense relief, what we’ve discovered underneath those Hollywood layers is three or four really good stories.

‘A strong community story there I think, I think there is that sense of street by street community.’

Coronation Street will celebrate its 60th anniversary on December 9, with bosses preparing for the milestone long before the coronavirus emerged. 

It comes after the news that the soap’s older stars are likely to return to the famous cobbles by autumn according to veteran star Bill Roache.

The soap has resumed filming after lockdown was eased but only the younger and less vulnerable actors are involved in production at the moment.

Yet Bill, who plays Ken Barlow, hopes he will be back on screen for the show’s 60th anniversary later this year.

The 88-year-old told The Mirror: ‘I’m looking forward to it – I don’t want to slow down. I want to speed up!

‘They have started filming again, but not for us oldies. But probably by the autumn they have said we could be back. I had no idea until they contacted me and they asked me if I wanted to go back and I said yes. 

‘Then I had to get a doctor’s report that he considers the protocols they have got are good, which he has done.’  

ITV bosses previously confirmed that older cast members will be kept at home during the first few weeks of filming.