CORRIE bosses are to ramp up the drama on the cash-crisis soap — by having a character shot dead.
Killer Rob Donovan will cause terror on the Cobbles after he escapes prison.
Rob, played by Marc Baylis, will take hostage his sister Carla Connor, played by Alison King.
It leads to the shooting and death.
A TV insider said: “Viewers will be on the edge of their seats as the gripping hostage ordeal followed by a cold-blooded murder unfolds.
“No one is safe from the peril and havoc Rob is set to unleash.”
It emerged last week that up to 75 people among ITV’s 600-strong Corrie and Emmerdale casts and crew face redundancy.
All episodes are to be scaled back to 30 minutes, meaning an hour’s less soap a week.
Several Corrie cast members have left in recent weeks including Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw), Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley), Colson Smith (Craig Tinker) and Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster).
Insiders blame rising costs and falling ad revenue for the changes.
Coronation Street villain reveals he’s QUIT soap and his dramatic final scenes have already aired
