Coronation Street’s Johnny Connor plans to rename the Rovers Return when he takes over.
The former factory boss – played by Richard Hawley – wants to take the fictional boozer in a "new direction" when he takes over the reins from Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) and Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor), and he wants to call the pub The Roverz, much to the "horror" of the cobbles residents.
A ‘Coronation Street’ source said: "Johnny decides that the pub needs a good lick of paint and a rebrand.
"So he tells all of the residents of Weatherfield that he is going the whole hog and changing the name.
"Everyone is horrified when they hear he’s going to call it The Roverz and tries to convince him to leave it as it is."
What’s more, Johnny wants to bring in gastro grub to the pub, which could see the boozer’s famous dish, Betty’s Hotpot – created by former character Betty Williams (Betty Driver) – axed from the menu.
The source added to The Sun newspaper: "Scrapping Betty’s famous hotpots is even more unthinkable."
This comes just a week after it was revealed that Johnny – who was recently left devastated following the suicide of his son Aidan Connor (Shayne Ward) – will purchase the watering hole, with soap bosses keen to give the Connors a higher profile in Weatherfield.
A source said at the time: "Coronation Street bosses are really trying to big up the Connors as the new family on the block, and want them to be as big as the Barlows.
"There are big plans for them in terms of storylines, and first up is taking over the pub."
Johnny will fork out on the pub partly for emotional reasons because the Rovers was the last place he saw his son before Aidan headed home to his flat and tragically took his own life, only for Johnny to discover his body in the bathroom the next day.
The source added: "It was the last place he saw Aidan before he went home to kill himself, so when he hears it’s up for grabs he swoops in and takes control."
Corrie’s Johnny ‘to rename Rovers Return’
