Gazey reveals Corrie 50th confusion

Craig Gazey has admitted that the Coronation Street cast were left in the dark about one of the soap's 50th anniversary secrets.

Last month, a special block of episodes marking the show's milestone was billed with the tagline "Four Funerals and a Wedding", causing speculation over which Weatherfield residents would die.

As the anniversary editions aired, fans saw Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold), Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) and Charlotte Hoyle (Becky Hindley) all lose their lives. Meanwhile, the mystery fourth death was later confirmed to be a taxi driver and father-of-three who was mentioned by firefighters in the drama's one-hour live episode.

Speaking on ITV2's National Television Awards Party last night, Gazey confirmed that the soap's cast knew about the fates of Ashley, Molly and Charlotte well ahead of time - but were clueless over the fourth casualty.

The actor, who plays Weatherfield favourite Graeme Proctor, explained: "You know the fact that it said 'four funerals and one wedding'? The fact that they put this one in that we didn't know about - we actually thought there was a bit of a conspiracy theory.

"They didn't want us to actually know - the press or even ourselves. Our producer Phil Collinson said, 'Don't believe everything you read - even in your own scripts!'"

Gazey recently announced that he will be leaving Coronation Street later this year.