Corrie boss Iain MacLeod reveals reading fan comments is part of 'creative process'
He takes it into consideration!
Coronation Street show boss Iain MacLeod has opened up about the creative process behind the scenes at ITV, and admitted that he thinks it's "important" to read fan tweets online. Whether they're positive or negative, passionate soap fans take to Twitter in their droves on a daily basis to share their thoughts about episodes of their favourite shows.
Whilst it's important not to get too bogged down by negative tweets, Iain has revealed that he thinks it would be "arrogant" not to listen to the fans of his show, who provide valuable feedback on their storylines without even knowing it.
In an interview with Metro.co.uk, Iain said, "You can’t please all the people all the time. I dip in and out of it and there is a risk with social media engagement that you selectively remember only the negative and it can start to become a bit depressing, I guess.
"If you isolate yourself from that and don’t pay attention or don’t care about what the audience want it’s a little bit arrogant firstly and secondly you are denying yourself an opportunity of having a barometer of what you are doing."
Iain added that whilst he acknowledged viewing figures are important, he thinks it's equally important for the audience to actually enjoy what they're watching, and called it "madness" to try and block out the opinions of fans.
He added that it's also important to "trust your instincts" and those of the writers to "keep the clarity of vision", saying, "If you try to please all the people all the time it can end up in a bit of a muddle."
Scroll through to see all the Coronation Street spoilers you need for this week...
After their hospitality over Christmas, Evelyn tells Jade that she needs to be thinking about moving out and Jade agrees to start looking for a flat.
But Fiz and Tyrone have bigger fish to fry when they're interrupted by a social worker sent from the hospital, who are concerned about Hope's injury to her arm.
Pointing out that Hope's version of events doesn't match theirs, the social worker explains that Fiz and Tyrone are now under investigation and Hope and Ruby will have to live somewhere else for now. Kevin offers to have the girls at his.
Things go from bad to worse when the police arrive at Number 9 to take Fiz and Tyrone in for questioning regarding the antique gun.
When they are released, they're both relieved to find they've given the same version of events about the gun, but Tyrone worries that lying to the police will only make things worse down the line.
Later, Imran tells Fiz and Tyrone that they've no choice to comply with the social workers orders. But when Fiz finds Hope and Ruby playing in her garden, she can't help but hug them tearfully.
Soon they're once again confronted by social services, who explain that since they broke the terms of the investigation, both Hope and Ruby will now have to go into foster care. How did they know?
Devastated, Fiz and Tyrone arrive at the social care offices to discuss the terms, and are told that Hope has a half sister who is willing to look after the girls.
Fiz and Tyrone are gobsmacked when they arrive to find that Jade is the half-sister who will take them in.
Elsewhere, Chesney and Gemma are preparing for their next shoot with Freshco when the marketing woman, Tara, suggest that they do this one somewhere different.
At first, Gemma is insistent that they do the shoot at home, or not at all. But later on they realise they need to money, and they call Tara to tell her they've changed their mind.
The day of the shoot arrives and they head off to a posh house. While the photographer shoots the quads, exhausted Gemma and Chesney sneak off for a much deserved nap.
Awaking hours later, Chesney is horrified that he's late for work at Primer Donner and quickly rings Dev to apologise.
But Dev is having none of it. Later on, he calls round at number 11 and tells Chesney that he has to choose between the kebab shop and the Frescho deal.
Meanwhile, Daniel finally decides to take Bertie for his vaccinations, but after Dr Gaddas administers the first, Bertie is in tears and Daniel refuses to let her do any more.
Feeling overwhelmed, Daniel takes Bertie home and later Bethany calls at the flat. Explaining what happened earlier, Bethany assures Daniel that Bertie is fine and makes him promise to go back to Dr Gaddas for the rest of the jabs.
Meanwhile, Tracy is mortified when Leanne overhears her begging her one-night-stand to keep their tryst a secret, and when Leanne confronts her, assures her it was a huge mistake and should never have happened.
But things get even more awkward when Amy walks in and overhears the conversation between her mum and Leanne. Furious that now Leanne knows too, Amy wants nothing to do with Tracy.
Suspicions peaked by Tracy's strange behaviour, Steve confronts her at home and remorseful Tracy tells him everything. Steve is horrified when he finds out who it was.
As they row, Tracy reveals she's felt ignored by Steve for the last few months. Steve isn't having any of it and orders her to leave. Later on he confides in Emma about how much he loves Tracy.
Elsewhere, Aggie is in for a lovely surprise when a Gazette reporter arrives at the Café and tells her she's been nominated by Michael for the paper's Golden Heart Award.
The reporter commends Aggie on her brave actions over the Christmas Day shooting, but when she questions her on her former life as a nurse, Aggie is cagey and doesn't want to discuss it.
Iain joined to head up the Corrie team in 2018, having previously worked on the soap earlier on in his career. He's also worked as series producer of Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.