It’s not the first time that shrill cries of a crisis have hit British institution Coronation Street and it won’t

be the last.

Due to the beloved show’s standing as the UK’s most watched soap and its legendary status, Coronation

Street is subjected to more scrutiny than many other TV shows, with several choppy eras leading to speculation of it being doomed.

Of course, there is very little chance of Corrie being axed by ITV any time soon, and nor is there any reason for any of us to even contemplate that level of outcome.

But, that’s not to say that the show isn’t in a very troubling period. Hitting the headlines for many negative reasons, including the sudden departure of returning star Sean Wilson – throwing one of TV’s most important departures of all time in Helen Worth’s Gail Platt into chaos – and the focus on alleged harsh budget cuts, increasing obsessions with dark storylines and decreasing viewing figures.

As Soaps Editor, it will come as zero surprise that Coronation Street is one of my favourite shows of all time, like millions of others. I want nothing more than success for it, but there’s no hiding from the significant problems and deepening fan frustrations.

After 50 years, Helen Worth is taking a well deserved retirement and both she and the fans who have adored her alter-ego for half a century deserve the perfect ending for Gail.

It has never been more vital to get a storyline right, and Helen was said to be absolutely delighted to know that Martin was being brought back to help facilitate a happy ending for the character.

But actor Sean had only been filming for a few weeks when he left the show, with the reasons shrouded in mystery. This has left Gail’s exit up in the air, with a seemingly hasty re-write, bringing back a minor character from the past, played by John Thomson, instead.

Gail had little connection to the character, Jesse Chadwick, and he was a love interest for Eileen Grimshaw during his relatively short stint between 2008 and 2010.

Many struggle to remember Jesse, who was used almost exclusively as a bumbling comedy character, and my dread is that his comeback is being brought about to artificially re-create the Gail and Eileen feud, which feels like it belongs in the past.

The negative responses from fans set in long before this difficult situation, however. Numerous issue led storylines, almost all of them dark and depressing, have been running concurrently and exhaustingly for a number of years.

With a lot of the arcs told at the same time, we have been subjected to plots centring on acid attacks, stillborn babies, bullying, rape, murder, missing teenagers, wrongful jailings, paedophiles, revenge porn, motor neurone disease, cancer, far right terrorism and drug pushing gangsters.

While the acting and writing has been solid in many of these, and individually, many of the storylines have been deeply engaging, it has been too much all at once, largely at the expense of the humour and community based storylines that Coronation Street does best, and has been known for all its long life.

The performances of Cait Fitton and Calum Lill in a recent special episode which resolved Lauren’s story were nothing short of exceptional, and the journey of Paul Foreman in a format-breaking episode packed an emotional punch that won critical acclaim left, right and centre.

But Coronation Street needs to urgently reconnect with its roots, focusing on characters organically developing with one another, rather than being vehicles for plotlines, many of which are quickly resolved with little consequence.

Storylines such as a retcon on Toyah having fallen pregnant after her rape in 2000 and subsequently burying her stillborn baby caused national outrage.

Attempts to replicate repeated classics by making Roy Cropper the latest in a long line of wrongly accused icons thrown in jail, or using Stephen Reid as yet another male serial killer unable to live up to Richard Hillman, is not the right way to go.

Much like any attempt to revive a Gail and Eileen spat would fall flat with me, the risk of re-running these ideas is that it can highlight clearly how they are unable to match up to the previous incarnations, which only serves to paint another easy target for criticism.

And then there’s the whole feel of the Street as a whole. The cast is very big and thus many disappear for weeks or even months at a time and, while there are many characters, the Rovers often seems pretty dead. Whether this is a result of cost-cutting measures – location filming seems all but gone – is anyone’s guess, but the community-based drama is what defines Corrie and sets it aside from the rest.

For me, the answers are relatively straightforward in their logic – tone down the darkness, interlink the characters with one another more, focus on relationships and comedy and bring back the sparkle. Oh, and give Gail the exit she deserves – does she truly need a man to end her time on the Street?

Crisis feels too dramatic a word and it is one that is liberally attached to all soaps any time they are hit with a less popular era.

Corrie’s resilience is unmatchable and it will rise again – while viewing figures aren’t what they used to be, this is the story across all mainstream TV in terms of overnight ratings. Viewing habits have changed and competition from streaming platforms and online viewing creates a downturn that is inevitable.

But, Corrie isn’t doomed – it is still the most viewed soap and one of the consistently most-watched programmes across all UK TV.

There is heaps of talent in the show, both on screen and behind the scenes. Fans are loyal and are absolutely rooting for their beloved show, as am I.

I have every faith that it will come back fighting after this troubled period and it will be another soap’s turn to be slapped with the ‘crisis’ label.