Watch any old episode of Coronation Street and you’ll notice how busy and bustling the Rovers Return is.
These days, though, the iconic pub is much quieter, with punters able to sup on their Newton & Ridley pints in relative peace.
But one scene in the Rovers during Monday’s episode of the ITV soap left one fan begging an important question.
As Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) was seen chatting to ex Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan), they noticed there were a hell of a lot of empty glasses on the bar.
Taking to X, the baffled fan wrote: ‘When was the Rovers busy enough to have so many empty glasses like this?
‘I’ve seen no more than 10 punters in there at any one time for the past 2 years at least.’
And it’s fair to say they have a point, as over the last few months, many other Corrie fans have remarked on how empty the pub now is on screen.
‘If the Rovers Return from #Corrie had been a real pub it would have gone to the wall years ago. You wouldn’t get enough punters to keep it commercially viable,’ one wrote on X.
A second posted: ‘The Rovers doesn’t seem to have got any busier since it was sold for not being busy…..No real pub would survive with so few punters. There doesn’t even appear to be any staff.’
‘It’s so empty everyone would be in there in old Corrie,’ another observed.
‘This soap getting ridiculous 3 people behind the bar in an empty Rovers?’ one fan questioned.
Another wrote: ‘Rovers still virtually empty still. @itvcorrie needs to find some money for more supporting actors / extras.’
‘Great ratio of bar-staff to punters in the Rovers. #PersonalService,’ another joked.
As viewers might remember, the Rovers was previously at the centre of a storyline that saw it affected by the real-life cost of living crisis.
Last year, Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) sought to sell the boozer when it was weeks away from going bankrupt, with brewery Newton & Ridley initially turning down the chance to buy it believing it was not profitable.
After a botched sale to pub chain LS Waterford left the pub closed for two months, Jenny and Daisy later repurchased it with money Jenny’s dead murderous ex Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) had stolen from Underworld.
After discovering it was her money used to buy the Rovers, Carla Connor (Alison King) now owns it, keeping Jenny and Daisy on behind the bar to help repay their debts.
But with footfall still low, who knows how long it will be before it changes hands once again.
