‘Coronation Street’ boss Stuart Blackburn insists "no one is safe" from the axe.
The soap showrunner – who was dubbed the Grim Reaper for killing off a string of top names during his time at ‘Emmerdale’ – admits he considered ending the lives of a number of characters in next week’s bus crash to explore "cause and effect" in Weatherfield.
He said: "No one was safe.
"When you sit around a writers’ table the truth is all of them [the characters] are fair game.
"That’s not about being gratuitous, it’s about having a cause and effect."
The producer decided not to do anything too dramatic with the accident – which sees a minibus driven by Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) containing Underworld staff run off the road – as he didn’t want to look like he was "desperate" for ratings.
He added: "It was a possibility of killing some of them off but I felt at the end of the day we didn’t need it.
"I didn’t want us to start the year looking like we were grasping at straws.
"We had the deaths of Hayley Cropper and Tina McIntyre last year, which were massive.
"We also lost Peter Barlow and Rob Donovan, which were big losses for us.
"We’ve got a long year to get through so I thought it would look desperate doing too many deaths."
However, Stuart admitted he would consider leaving the show if he was blocked from killing off "untouchable" faces.
He told The Sun newspaper: "I think the minute I, as a producer, am not able to make those kinds of creative decisions because someone is untouchable then it’s time to kick me out of the job."
Corrie boss: No one is safe
