Coronation Street (commonly known as Corrie) is the longest-running television soap opera in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two most popular soap operas in the UK, the other is "EastEnders". It has won many awards. It is set in Weatherfield, a pretend part of Manchester. It is currently filmed in Salford Quays, It used to be filmed in Granada Studios in Manchester from 1960 to 2014. William Roache has played Ken Barlow in it since it was first started in 1960 by Tony Warren. He has acted in the show for longer than anyone else. Eileen Derbyshire, who plays Emily Bishop, started in 1961. Gail Platt played by Helen Worth, who was at first meant to be a very small character. There are six half-hour episodes a week: two on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There have been more than 5000 characters in the show's history.