Coronation Street's new boss Kate Oates has set her sights on bringing Aidan Turner to the cobbles.

Aidan Turner

Aidan Turner

The former 'Emmerdale' producer, who starts her latest role in two weeks, is keen to introduce a new hunk to Weatherfield and she admitted someone like the "very handsome" 'Poldark' star would be an excellent addition to the soap.

She said: "British TV has really raised its game. There is Aidan Turner and there are a few others like him at the moment.

"There is a lot of talent out there and some of it is very handsome. Someone like Aidan would be brilliant.

"Since having time off at the beginning of the year I've been watching lots and lots of TV and taking it all in."

Kate also admitted she is open to introducing storylines about hard-hitting topics such as extremism, as long as they are rolled out "responsibly".

She added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It's sensitive at any time. With a storyline like that if you are going to look at it you would have to look at it responsibly.

"Everyone would have to be comfortably uncomfortable with it. I wouldn't be closed to it. It's very sensitive and people are affected by it in a very real way."

The new 'Corrie' producer has hinted she is thinking about bringing back some of the soap's legendary characters - which might open the door to a possible return for the likes of Julie Goodyear, who played Bet Lynch, Kevin Kennedy (Curly Watts) and Ken Morley (Reg Holdsworth).

She told the Daily Star newspaper: "I've been tossing around a few ideas in my head about who will be back. There's nothing I can really talk about yet. I'd need to talk to the writers first.

"I think Corrie has a strong cast and also a strong history. And it's nice to mix and match.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what the writers are interested in doing and matching their ideas with mine. Often you find yourselves thinking from the same place. You think along similar lines. And I'm sure that's true when it comes to bringing back popular characters."

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