No worries over Corrie immigrant storyline

Coronation Street producers are confident that a forthcoming immigrant storyline would not cause a flurry of Celebrity Big Brother-style complaints.

Actress Wanda Opalinska is to play new Polish knicker-stitcher Vicki, who appears in Weatherfield in the hope of landing a job.

During her time at Underworld, Kelly "Legs" Crabtree (Tupele Dorgu) and Joanne Jackson (Zaraah Abrahams) bitch about the "foreign invasion" and sabotage her sewing machine, while factor owners Paul and Liam Connor (Sean Gallagher and Rob James-Collier) joke about "little Polish pay packets".

A Street source told The Mirror: "The scripts were done before the furore over Celebrity Big Brother and its bullying and racist content.

"There will be scenes where viewers think she is being picked on because of where she is from. We are mindful of people pointing the finger at how we portray her but the Street is never afraid to tackle sensitive issues."

Wanda has already started filming with the ITV soap, with her first on-screen appearance set for Monday, February 26.