Published Wednesday, 07 July 2010
A major 50th anniversary storyline will see the viaduct which spans the cobbles collapsing, together with a tram crash, to mark the show's milestone in December.
The gripping storyline will see characters killed and others injured, according to producer Phil Collinson.
Announcing the plot on This Morning, he said: "If you're listening in Weatherfield, one fateful night at the beginning of December the viaduct's going to collapse, down by the corner shop and the Kabin, and a tram is going to crash into Coronation Street.
"People are going to be injured, people are going to be killed. It's a big, big story for us and one fateful night will play out across a whole week.
"Picking up the pieces of that into next year is going to be huge."
He added: "We'll be losing some well-known, well-loved characters.
"And hopefully we'll be keeping under wraps who exactly will be going. We'll be doing everything we can to make sure we keep that secret until it transmits."
Previous soap disasters include Emmerdale's plane crash in 1993, which left a number of characters dead, and Brookside's killer plague, which wiped out three residents.
During his interview, Collinson also teased viewers about what to expect from upcoming storylines, promising that 2011 would be Tracy Barlow's year after she returns as a full-time character at the end of 2010.
He said Audrey Roberts would end up with a broken heart and that viewers would hear the patter of tiny feet "from a couple of places" across the autumn.
Collinson hinted that events would take a "sinister turn" for John Stape, and that the love triangle storyline between Molly and Tyrone Dobbs and Kevin Webster would "roll on for a long, long time".
The producer also revealed that the idea to cast the two sons of long-standing cast member William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, was prompted by Roache himself.
"It's brilliant and when you see them on screen it's like looking at Ken Barlow through the ages. It's terrifying," Collinson added.