The moment Coronation Street's beloved boozer bursts into flames

It took three weeks to film with countless stunt doubles and a specialist stunt crew - but the fire which engulfs Coronation Street's beloved boozer certainly takes centre stage.
Producers were determined to make the moment Britain’s most famous pub goes up in flames - with two people trapped inside - as dramatic as possible.
As these pictures of the inferno show, the fire inside the Rovers Return quickly takes hold whilst stunned Coronation Street residents watch in horror.

Trapped: Michelle Collins, who plays Stella Price, said she found the fire scenes distressing to film 

Flames billow out of the windows as a desperate Stella Price screams for help upstairs and Sunita Alahan lies unconscious in the basement.
The fire takes hold on March 18th as the street residents gather in Nick’s Bistro for a Full Monty charity strip show. Just as the boys are about the strip to the bare essentials Norris rushes into the Bistro to alert everyone to the fire.
The action packed episodes took three weeks to film and involved stunt doubles, a special effects team and specialist fire crews.

Who is responsible? Sunita, played by Shobna Gulati, is trapped in the boozer as flames engulf the Rovers Return 

By the end of the week the iconic Rovers Return is a burnt out shell leaving friends and neighbours to try and come to terms with the shocking events.
And in the coming weeks shock turns to anger as it becomes clear that the fire was arson with Sunita Alahan as the number one suspect!
For actress Shobna Gulati the Rovers fire also heralds the end of her time on Coronation Street.
She said: 'It’s an amazing send off. It feels great and I feel so pleased. The Rovers itself burning was hard to watch. When you watched the inside burning there was Betty’s picture in flames, along with all those memories.
'Sunita was a barmaid there too so she had an inside out relationship with the pub. I had a stunt lady there to do any scenes I didn’t want to do, but when it came to it I just thought this is the last time viewers are going to see me as Sunita, so you might as well see my face and not the back of the stunt double!

Hot storyline: Flames engulf the boozer - scenes took at least three weeks to film

Struggle: As the Full Monty reaches its climax and the lads are about to reveal all, Norris rushes in and reveals the pub is on fire

'When I finished filming the fire I cried. I thought how awful it must be to actually be in that kind of disaster. It must be horrific because the heat was horrendous.
'I could feel the burn. You could actually feel your skin burning. I had a bucket of cold water for me to cool down in because I was that hot; hot beyond belief.'
Michelle Collins who plays Stella Price also found filming the fire scenes very dramatic. She said: 'Stella’s left the Bistro quite upset after the palava with Sunita and goes home. She just wants to relax and de-stress so she goes back to the Rovers for a nice bath.

Shock: Cast members show off their best screams as filming continues

'The lights go out first of all before she starts to see and smell smoke. At this point she doesn’t realise anyone else is in there and she thinks she’s the only one trapped indoors.
'Obviously she thinks everyone’s in the Bistro and that nobody will come to rescue her. At that point I think she genuinely believes she’s going to die. She tries to open the window, and it’s jammed and she can’t get down the stairs either.
'It was quite frightening. I didn’t think it would be as scary as it actually was! To be honest with you I tried not to think about it, which was a good idea.

Trapped: The scenes took weeks to film and involved stunt doubles as well as special fire crews 

'I spent my time talking to the special effects team instead. I did feel very protected by everyone there. There were lots of firemen there and lots of people safeguarding.
'And of course I had the rest of the cast and crew with me too! Everyone was really supportive and it really felt like a real fire.'
Shobna is looking forward to her character's on-screen death as she begins her life away from the show, which she described as living ‘in a goldfish bowl.’
She recently told The Sun Sunday newspaper: ‘I now feel free ... 'Corrie' fame made me a recluse. When I handed in my resignation I knew it was the right thing.'

After filming her last scenes Shobna revealed she would go on to star as one of the Loose Women