Coronation Street's Sunita to die in Rovers Return blaze

Shobna Gulati who plays Sunita in Coronation Street is to leave the soap (PA)

Coronation Street's famous Rovers Return is set to go up in flames in a blaze which kills soap favourite Sunita Alahan.

The pub, which has been a fixture in the show since its launch in the 1960s, is reduced to a shell in the dramatic spring storyline.

Street residents risk their lives trying to save people trapped in the Rovers during Sunita's explosive exit.

Despite becoming a victim of the inferno, the locals believe that former Rovers barmaid Sunita, played by Shobna Gulati, started the blaze.

They point the finger after her lover, gambler and lothario Karl Munro (John Michie), goes back to landlady Stella Price (Michelle Collins).

A soap spokeswoman refused to comment on reports about the storyline, to be produced by outgoing Street boss Phil Collinson.

But a source said: "It's going to be a very dramatic spring on Corrie. The Rovers Return will be reduced to a shell."

Gulati recently announced she was quitting the ITV soap after eight years playing Sunita, to focus on writing comedy.

The actress joined Coronation Street as shop assistant Sunita in 2001. She took a break from the show in 2005 but returned in 2008.

PA