LONG-RUNNING BRITISH soap opera Coronation Street is to feature a black family for the first time in its 59-year history.

Producers at ITV have confirmed that the Baileys will be joining the Manchester-set show from June and will be a permanent fixture in Weatherfield.

The programme has featured black characters previously but this is the first time an entire family of black characters is to be cast together.

The Baileys will consist of parents Edison and Aggie and sons Michael and James.

A sister named Diana is also reported to be part of the fictional family but has not yet been cast and will join the show at a later date.

Fans of Coronation Street may be interested to know that the Baileys are set to live in number 3 Coronation Street, having bought the house from longtime resident Norris Cole.

Producers of the show have said that the family are set to be involved in a number of storylines that touch on themes including racism and homophobia, with the character James set to come out as gay in the show.

Speaking to The Independent, producer Iain MacLeod said the inclusion of the Baileys would help Coronation Street be more representative of modern Britain.

“The north-west and Great Britain as a whole is a big melting pot of people from different backgrounds and ethnicities and the more representative we can make Corrie of Manchester and Britain the better really,” he said.

Asked why it has taken so long for a black family to be included in the show, MacLeod was unsure.

“Short answer – I don’t really know. Manchester has a large proportion of black residents so it did feel sort of overdue we did this and represented modern Manchester a bit more accurately.”