Patti Clare: 'Corrie secrecy is clever'

Coronation Street star Patti Clare has revealed that the soap's producers have come up with a "very clever" way to keep their 50th anniversary storylines under wraps.

The actress, who plays eccentric Mary Taylor on the ITV1 show, claimed that cast members are currently unaware of what the writers have in store for any character besides their own.

Speaking on Lorraine about plots which will air in December, Clare explained: "We don't know! We've only been sent our scenes - we're not even sent the whole episode. So nobody knows!"

She added: "It's very clever - oh, it's very clever!"

Meanwhile, Clare's co-star Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole) - who was also interviewed - reacted in surprise when programme host Lorraine Kelly showed him a newly-released picture illustrating how The Kabin is damaged in the tram crash storyline.

Hebden exclaimed: "That's my shop! I've not seen that before!"

Coronation Street's 50th anniversary week airs in December.

> Behind the scenes at Corrie 50th explosion