Corrie boss defends smoking scenes

Coronation Street's executive producer Kieran Roberts has defended the soap's use of smoking scenes.

The show's boss told Radio Times that life in Weatherfield would appear unrealistic if he bowed to calls for cigarettes to be banned on screen.

He commented: "While we have a duty not to glamorise the habit, it wouldn't be realistic to see nobody smoking - but only a few regulars do."

Roberts added that Street smokers like Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) are usually seen puffing on cigarettes outdoors since the smoking ban was introduced in England two years ago.

"Just as in real life, that makes the habit more visible, but it's not actually more prevalent," he explained.

Earlier this year, anti-smoking campaigners Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation criticised UK soaps for failing to show the consequences of smoking.