WRITERS of the TV soap Coronation Street have called on a business advice agency to help with one of their plot developments.

Green-fingered Graeme Proctor, one of the newest Street characters played by Craig Gazey, will be starting a gardening business.

Peter Watson, Business Link North West managing director, said he was delighted that, through the Coronation Street storyline, viewers might be encouraged to consider the option of becoming an entrepreneur.

He said: “When the script writers at Coronation Street approached us to help with the storyline we were more than happy to get involved because we regularly support people with ambitions of starting their own business so they can take the first steps.

“As well as providing information about starting a gardening business, we supplied contact details of potential funding sources and referred the ‘client’ to our website — exactly how we would in real life.”

A Coronation Street spokesman said: “The advice from Business Link North West gave scriptwriters a useful insight into how the character of Graeme, who has no business experience, would go about setting up his own enterprise and the options that would be open to him.”