Coronation Street has been hit by fresh accusations of product placement, just weeks after being caught up in a Channel 4 sting.
Despite legal threats by ITV, Channel 4 is to go ahead with a planned Dispatches film next month that allegedly shows Street actors promoting bogus products on Twitter, a clear breach of Advertising Standards Authority rules.
The show mentioned by Roy Cropper
The latest accusations concern the character Roy Cropper, who mentioned to his screen wife that he had picked up tickets to see a new theatre show from Strictly Come Dancing stars Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone during last Monday night’s episode.
The plug referred to Midnight Tango, which opened for a five-day run at the Manchester Opera House on July 23 – the next day. At the time, Cacace tweeted: “Thank you to Corrie for a @VFMidnightTango mention, can’t believe it that’s amazing x”.
Product placements are allowed on the soap opera but a letter ‘P’ must be shown in the opening credits to alert viewers, something which did not happen in this episode.
Some have suggested the mention may breach Ofcom broadcasting rules – and may also be connected to the Street’s recent recruitment of Jimi Mistry, who is also Cacace’s fiance.
But a Coronation Street spokeswoman said: “The episode script was written long before Jimi Mistry was even approached. It is untrue to suggest there is any connection between the two. All episodes are cleared through compliance before transmission.”
