Gatley

Gatley is a suburb of Stockport, one of the ten metropolitan boroughs which make up Greater Manchester. Until 1974 it was part of an independent urban district along with adjoining Cheadle but was assimilated into the nearby borough after the 1972 Local Government Act.

Virtually a village which became encompassed within an urban sprawl in the twentieth century, Gatley's railway station is a hundred yards or so outside the main street and opened in 1909. In March 1989 it was the scene of the arrest of Alan Bradley following his attack on and attempted murder of Rita Fairclough. Alan had fled the scene of the crime at 7 Coronation Street when he was caught in the act by daughter Jenny and Martin Platt. He laid low for several days, abandoning his car in Openshaw. He then contacted Jenny by phone and asked her to meet him at the station, bringing his passport with her. Despite being ordered to by the police, Jenny didn't make them aware of the call and persuaded Martin, against his better judgment, to take her to the rendezvous. What they didn't know was that they were being followed by Det-Con Richardson and the police who, after a short chase, arrested Alan in the car park.

Behind the Scenes
Although resolutely set in the fictional borough of Weatherfield, Coronation Street frequently references factual places, particularly Manchester and Salford and occasionally makes use of locations that are set in the "real world". The arrest of Alan Bradley is one such example, with location filming being conducted on the Styal-bound platform and car park of the station in 1989.