Who writes Coronation Street in 2026? The current writers and how scripts get made

More than 100 writers have contributed scripts in that time, and the current team produces three hour-long episodes per week — Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on ITV. That's a lot of cobblestone dialogue.

Here's who's writing it now and how an episode actually gets from idea to screen.

The current writing team

Corrie's writer roster operates as a rotating pool rather than a fixed staff — individual writers are commissioned for specific episodes, but a core group has been turning out scripts for years.

• Mark Wadlow — the programme's longest-serving writer, penning episodes since 1993. He's written over 400 to date. Previous credits include Bad Girls and Robin Hood.
• Damon Rochefort — on the team since 2004, with over 300 episodes. He wrote the aftermath of the 50th-anniversary tram crash in 2010 and Deirdre Barlow's funeral. He also co-wrote the Coronation Street stage musical Street of Dreams.
• Jonathan Harvey — the award-winning playwright behind Gimme Gimme Gimme, he joined Corrie in 2004 and has written over 332 episodes. He stepped back briefly in 2024 but returned in 2025, penning Dev and Bernie's summer wedding as his comeback script. If a sharp one-liner lands, there's a good chance Harvey wrote it.
• Joe Turner — a regular since 1999 and the go-to writer for the Christmas Day episode. He also wrote the spectacular tram crash itself in 2010.
• Ellen Taylor — part of the writing team since 2010, contributing consistently across a range of storylines.

The team is broader than this — Corrie draws from a wider pool of commissioned writers — but these five form the backbone.

How a script gets made

The process runs in stages. Story conferences bring together the writing team, story producers, and script producer Lucy Beckett to map out storylines months in advance. Long-running arcs — like Debbie Webster's dementia — are plotted over a year or more; shorter beats slot in around them. Individual episodes are then commissioned to specific writers, who receive detailed scene breakdowns. Scripts go through multiple drafts, with the script producer and story editors checking continuity, tone, and pacing. Episodes are typically filmed several weeks before broadcast, though the gap can tighten for topical storylines.

The current producer is Kate Brooks, who oversees creative direction and has recently teased a flash-forward episode and a six-suspect murder mystery.

Does Coronation Street share writers with other soaps?

Some crossover exists. Several Corrie writers have also written for EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, or Casualty at various points, though writers are typically exclusive to one programme at a time.

The show's most famous alumni writer? Arguably Russell T Davies, who wrote for Corrie early in his career before creating Queer as Folk and reviving Doctor Who. Tony Warren, the programme's creator, wrote the first 13 scripts himself in 1960 before the scale of production made solo writing impossible. Warren died in 2016.