[Scarlett.]

Phil Collinson has admitted that he wants the upcoming tram crash to attract - and keep - new Coronation Street viewers.

The producer, who took over the show this year, told the Guardian that he has "huge ambition" for the 50th anniversary plot.

"It'll be Coronation Street like you've never seen it: more spectacular - and more expensive - than it's ever been," he told the paper.

Collinson revealed that he wanted to ensure viewers didn't just tune in from December 6 for the special week of real-time episodes.

"No one has sat me down and had the conversation that starts, 'Our demographic is older and we need younger viewers …' The show is in really good health and it does good viewing figures," he said.

"People haven't got used to Thursdays yet so we need to look at how to make them feel more important, but all the conversations have been about what we do between now and December and how we make sure people don't turn on for the anniversary week and then turn off again the week after."

He continued: "We're steaming towards December with five or six really big stories and when Monday hits and the week pans out, the tram crash will have sent off all those stories in completely different directions so that the people who have come to it will feel the need to stay on."

The former Doctor Who producer recently defended himself against claims that he was "polishing up his hatchet" when he took over Corrie.

"When Coronation Street is at its best, it's like a Lowry painting," he said. "There's a bit going on here, a bit going on there, a bit going on somewhere else. You try and pull as many of your cast into as many stories as you can and that's when it feels great. I want to do big seven-page scenes in the Rovers that go from character to character. I also want the pace to pick up."

Digital Spy

I like the sound of this, usually after a big event it's forgotten the next week, whereas this time it sounds like this event will affect everything