Coronation Street: The Feature Length Special, since known also as "The QE2 Video", was the first in a series of "Straight to Video/DVD" releases which carried the story of the main programme's characters outside of the milieu of the Street and its environs. Set in a luxurious setting, far removed from the usual locales presented on screen, the VHS tape set the template for future releases in that it continued the narrative thread of the story while tempting but not alienating viewers who did not buy the tape and had the added bonus followed since by most of the releases in that it featured a guest spot by a past regular of the programmme, in this case Alec Gilroy.