Less hours and more pay give Corrie crew the hump…

…because the staff with these perks are over the Pennines in Yorkshire at Emmerdale.

ITV Yorkshire’s Emmerdale has been on-air since 1972.

[pullquote]Emmerdale staff can earn up to £10,000 more.[/pullquote]

Two tabloid newspapers report that staff over at ITV Granada in Salford are not on an even wage or work level with their counterparts at ITV Yorkshire in Leeds – this despite both programmes now churning out six episodes a week.

The Sun and The Mirror note that Coronation Street crew are – to quote dear Lateysha Naomi Henry of The Valley’s – ‘tampin’ fumin’ ragin’ following the revelation that apparently Emmerdale staff can earn up to £10,000 more than the elder soaps production team. It seems a baffling revelation considering the production arm ITV Studios, and broadcaster ITV, have always seen Corrie as their flagship saga – with Emmerdale dancing to the sound of the second fiddle.

Both serials have been under the same company management since 1998 when Granada Television, Coronation Street’s production company, bought-out Yorkshire Television, the station behind Emmerdale. This should have put both sagas at a level footing. Not so says an insider quoted in the press.

The studios of ITV Yorkshire in Leeds.

ITV Granada is based at MediaCity in Salford.

“The crew on Corrie are fuming as they’ve learned that the Emmerdale crew are on better deals, getting paid more for less hours, and are getting loads of overtime. In some instances, there’s as much as £10,000 between people doing the same job on different crews. There’s talk they might be getting pay rises in January but the crew say it’s still too little, too late.” – an ITV source quoted by The Sun

[pullquote]Corrie has always been ITV’s flagship serial.[/pullquote]

The two main ITV soaps have increased their output over the years up to currently a ‘factory pace’ six-episodes per week, when both launched they aired only two episodes a week, with Emmerdale – as Emmerdale Farm – spending most of the 1970s in the afternoon schedules rarely bothering the ITV Top Ten ratings, while Coronation Street has always had a primetime slot and status on ITV as the network’s flagship saga. Emmerdale began to make its move to become equal to Corrie in the late 1980s, culminating in the 1993 plane crash plot aimed to grab tabloid and viewers attention.

The Mirror reports that now its Corrie crew looking to equal the situation with some behind-the-scenes staff looking to join trade union Unite to deal with the issues raised. An ITV spokesperson told The Sun “There is parity across both ITV soaps.” however the newspaper adds that executives have been rattled by the public revelations.

Coronation Street, from ITV Granada, has been storytelling since 1960.