THREE East Lancashire Coronation Street stars have swapped the cobbled street for the desert sand after taking to Safari in South Africa.

Wendi Peters, of the Ribble Valley, who plays Cilla is reunited with her co-star son and Bacup lad, Sam Aston, who plays Chesney in the African adventure.

Jenni McAlpine, also of Bacup, features as Fiz.

The local celebs have launched their latest Coronation Street DVD ‘Out of Africa’, where “mother from hell” Cilla has plunged her on-screen family into a money making scam.

But it’s not long before Ches smells a rat and Cilla is forced to explain to her son why they have really been brought half way round the world to enter the ‘Sunshine Family Of South Africa’ competition.

Sam said it was a “dream come true” to film abroad.

He said: “They told us that we might be filming something away and I was expecting somewhere really in this country, then when they said South Africa I was like ‘whoa’.”

A spokesperson for Coronation Street said: “Fans of the cobbles will see the return of Cilla as she aspires to hit the big time in the sun-kissed climate of Sun City, in South Africa.

"ut there’s only one problem, she needs her family on hand if she’s to stand any chance of pulling off the most audacious of scams.

“And if she’s going to get her grubby mitts on the dosh, she’s going to have to bring down the opposition first.”

But others are said to have their eye on the main prize of £500,000.

“Things are unlikely to run smoothly, however, as Ches’ head is turned by the enemy, Fiz finds love and Cilla’s latest beau is exposed to her scheming ways as they run the gauntlet of the South African bush — complete with lions, snakes and crocodiles.”

Only time will tell if the cast will land the unlikely title of ‘Sunshine Family’ and walk away with more money than they could dream of… l The Coronation Street DVD is out on Monday.