The 'Coronation Street' set has been invaded by sex-pest ladybirds.
Catherine Tyldesley
The cast of the soap have been forced to flee their dressing rooms after a swarm of the the red-spotted insects carrying sexually transmitted diseases have taken refuge in the nooks and crannies of the hair and make-up department over the chilly winter months.
Catherine Tyldesley - who portrays busty blonde barmaid Eva Price in the popular show - told the Daily Star newspaper: "I discovered loads of ladybirds all over the dressing rooms. They were all hiding out in there. There was yellow ones and everything. They're using the studios like holiday homes. It's madness."
Helen Flanagan - who has just reprised her role as model Rosie Webster in the programme following a four-year break - was the first to make a run for it after discovering the bugs trotting across the walls and ceilings of her dressing room.
And rightly so, as the creepy-crawlies - known as Harlequin Ladybirds - have been swooping in from Asia and North America due to the mild winds and pose a severe threat to native ladybirds because they carry the Laboulbeniales fungal disease.
It's not yet known whether the fungus is harmful to the UK-native ladybirds, but scientists believe the disease, which is passed on through mating, affects the lifespan or the number of eggs a female can produce throughout her life.
Despite the panic, it's believed the disease can't be passed on to humans.
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