EATING fish and chips in the back of a limousine is not most people's idea of a good night out.

So when the first episode of a new Coronation Street

special was unveiled, it could only have been one character.

Brassy landlady Bet Gilroy, played by Julie Goodyear, is back - and at large in Brighton.

The six episode soap spin-off, called The Rover Returns, will be shown on consecutive nights on ITV next week.

Brighton plays a key role in the show which sees bad

boy Steve McDonald visiting the town in the hope of winning back wealthy ex-wife Vicky (Chloe Newsome).

It was launched in London with a screening of the first episode and a compilation of later highlights.

Steve and partner Vikram Desai take a detour to Brighton, where Vicky now has a wine bar, during an illegal tobacco run to Calais.

He finds out she is planning to marry in a week's time and makes a bet with Vikram that he will stop it going ahead.

Meanwhile Bet, newly arrived from Spain after the death of her wealthy lover, is hatching a plot to make some money.

The cast and crew of the long-running soap, spent a week filming in Brighton last month.

Stars including Simon Gregson, who plays Steve, Goodyear and Newsome, stayed at the seafront Brighton Thistle hotel during the shoot.

A building in King's Road Arches doubles as the site of Vicky's bar, while the Palace Pier, the Royal Pavilion and the Grand Hotel, where Bet is staying, also feature.

The show's trademark opening sequence featuring the rooftops of fictional northern town Weatherfield, has been replaced with rooftop shots of Brighton.

And episode three, due to be shown next Wednesday, will see the return of Ken Morley as

shop boss Reg Holdsworth,

now managing a French hyper-market.

The special marks 25-year-old Gregson's tenth year in the

soap.

He said yesterday: "It was great fun filming in Brighton. The nightlife is fantastic.

"I took my boat down to the Marina to go water-skiing. The work is pretty much the same as in the studio but the script is more light-hearted, which I prefer.

"Steve is a very nasty piece of work when it comes to Vicky. He has never been an angel, but these days he has become quite cold-hearted.

"I'm surprised he doesn't go the whole hog and wear a black

cloak.

"He is fun to play although I do not think we have very much in common. At least, I hope not."

Julie Goodyear, who left the show in 1995 after 25 years playing glamorous Bet, said she did not know before filming if she would be able to re-create the character.

The 57-year-old now spends much of her time at her 30-acre estate in Heywood, Lancashire.

The actress, who dressed in a simple black outfit for yesterday's launch, said: "I have been away for four years so I had to do quite a lot of research.

"It took five hours to film the scenes in the limo, and it never left the studios in Manchester.

"I wasn't sure about going back, but once I read the script I did not have a moment's hesitation.

"Doing just six episodes was thoroughly enjoyable. I've done panto and other stuff since I left the show, which has been fun. But most of all I have enjoyed being me."

Filming of the Brighton scenes coincided with a visit from stars of rival BBC soap, EastEnders.

The first of three episodes of the programme set in the town was screened last night with Albert Square regulars travelling to the coast for a Hallowe'en party.

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