CORONATION Street star Simon Gregson has been dealt a fresh blow – with his wife forced to close her business amid money woes.
Simon, 50, has played cobbles fan favourite Steve McDonald since debuting in 1989.
Simon Gregson’s wife Emma has closed her business[/caption]
The couple have been married since 2010[/caption]
Emma shared an update about her business via Instagram[/caption]
For the past two and a half years, his wife Emma has been running village tearooms named Morley Tearooms.
Taking to Instagram, she confirmed the end of her time in the premises.
Emma re-shared a story from the tearooms’ account, which read: “End of Morley Tearooms but the beginning of something even better.
“It’s been a pleasure……
“When we move, we move together. Can’t wait to update and see you all very soon xxx. Em.”
Emma previously took to Facebook and addressed leaving the tearooms behind.
She wrote: “So, it’s true…. My time at the Tea rooms has unfortunately come to an end.
“I decided to leave due to the new lease not suiting my requirements. It was verbally agreed that I stay until the end of summer.”
But she’s since been told that she needs to leave “a lot sooner,” and her final trading day was set for June 29.
She continued: “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the outpouring of love I’ve received over the last couple of days. It’s been extremely humbling and heartwarming to have the support from all of you, you have no idea what it has meant to me.
“I’ve started to take all of your details so I can take you all on my new adventure which will be bigger and better and just down the road. So this is not the end, and this certainly isn’t goodbye.
“I hope you’ll all follow me onto this next exciting project which I’ll update you all on soon. In the meantime, I hope to see you all in the next couple of weeks.”
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Simon was being investigated over the collapse of his production firm, which saw him owing £165,000 to the tax office and a bank.
Liquidators called in to break up Simon Gregson Productions Ltd filed a report on the soap star’s conduct to the Government.
They demanded repayment of £252,000 taken from the firm’s coffers and paid into a separate account controlled by the actor – and number crunchers working on the liquidation concluded in official papers there were no further avenues to go down to reclaim the actor’s debt.
The soap favourite faced losing his house over the closure of his company.
History of the Coronation Street set
By Jake Penkethman, TV Reporter
1960-1968 – Whilst the Coronation Street set remained on Quay Street for 53 years, it actually had three separate studio sites. The first was an entirely indoor wooden set which was used for the first eight years of filming. This encompassed a replica of the Street built entirely indoors. The set was known to be awkward for actors to use and the houses brought to three quarter scale.
1968-1982 – In 1968, the addition of an outdoor set was created to adjoin the existing indoor set which was still used for filming right up until 1982. The set was used only when required with many of the show’s cast reportedly hating it and describing it as ‘the coldest place on Earth’.
1982-2013 – A brand new set was officially constructed in 1982 and was almost built fully to scale but still only permitted for one car to drive down the cobbled street. The house were purpose-built using reclaimed Salford brick in order to give it the most authentic feel possible. During these years, some of the show’s buildings were adapted to allow for both interior and exterior filming at the same time. These locations included Elliott’s Butchers, Barlow’s Buys, Prima Doner and Webster’s Autos. The final scenes to be recorded on this site occurred in December 2013. By early 2014, it began operating as a tourist attraction for around two years before ultimately being demolished and re-purposed in 2017.
2014-present – In early 2014, the show’s set moved to the TV hub of the North – MediaCityUK in nearby Salford Quays. It is now located a stone’s throw from major TV studio Dock 10 as well as the BBC’s base in the North – home to Blue Peter, Newsround, BBC Breakfast and BBC Sport. The new set was even bigger and built to 9/10 the scale of a real street and allowed for two card to be travelling down the road at opposite sides for the very first time. The site has even undergone major expansions during its 10 years. Just four years after opening in 2018, a brand new set extension was unveiled which introduced viewers to Victoria Gardens for the first time in its history. The Weatherfield North tram stop also became visible as did a series of shops which became used as part of product placement advertising deals. Brands to have been seen on the Street so far include a Co-Op, a Costa Coffee and a branch of Hay’s Travel. Four years later in 2022, another brand new set was unveiled, this time being the heavily mentioned Weatherfield Precinct. It became the first time in 62 years that the area had ever been seen on screens. It fearued a variety of shop fronts, a playground and a number of small flats which have begun to house more and more residents on the street in recent months.
Elsewhere, Simon’s side-hustle was revealed, with the soap favourite getting extra cash flow through Cameo.
Cameo allows Simon to send personalised video messages to his fans, whether it be for a birthday or anniversary.
And he’s charging £37.50-per-video on the platform, which says fans will: “Have the chance to customize your request for Simon Gregson, like asking them to mention inside jokes, share words of wisdom, or work in their signature catchphrases.”
Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
Simon is well-known for playing Steve McDonald in Corrie[/caption]
