Coronation Street star Tony Hirst has revealed how real firefighters had to step in as the Rovers fire drama got out of control.
The actor plays fireman Paul Kershaw, who comes to the rescue when Sunita Alahan and Stella Price are trapped in the burning pub. But he told The Sun how real firemen had to come to his rescue during the stunts
Tony said: "On the first night of filming the roof of the Rovers caught fire and the real firefighters - who were standing by on-set - had to step in. At one point there is an explosion and a 30ft fireball flies through the Rovers window.
"The crew wanted to show us what it would look like before the cameras started rolling - and set fire to a tree on the other side of the street. Luckily the fire service dealt with it."
But Tony, whose character is off-duty when he sees the blaze and climbs onto the roof to try and help, admitted he loved playing the action hero.
He added: "There was something rather laddish about it. It was like being Steve McQueen and Paul Newman."
