Coronation Street and Emmerdale are missing from ITV tonight. And it comes right after the channel pushed its new soap opera hour. Fans thought the new 8 pm slot would settle things, but both shows are off the screen again for football. And viewers are confused all over again. Keep scrolling to learn more.
Corrie Dropped As ITV Brings Football To Prime Time
ITV shifted Corrie and Emmerdale out of tonight’s lineup. The reason is that the channel is giving the EFL Cup full space. Arsenal vs Chelsea kicks off at 8 pm. Also, the soaps have faced this before. It happened because even after the power hour launch last time, the timings still kept getting pushed around when football came in.
Moreover, the channel recently trimmed the weekly runtime by half an hour. The reason is that they could air every weekend at the same time. And fans thought that this would help things settle. However, it hasnt worked that way tonight.
Also, the Corriedale crossover was a huge event. Even viewers loved seeing both fictional worlds clash together for one night. It felt like a proper celebration of the new schedule. Moreover, even the listings were changed just one week later. And this latest move reminds us that football still gets priority. And even when soaps try to lock down a proper slot.
When Will Coronation Street Return?
The show returns on Wednesday in its usual slot, so viewers won’t have to wait long. However, there are more disruptions coming. On Thursday, ITV will air the France and Ireland Six Nations match. So this will impact the slot again. And fans are already worried that this will happen again, even after ITV has promised a fixed pattern.
Kevin Lygo also spoke about it when the new schedule was announced. He said the pattern is viewer-led. People have too many things to watch. Even their habits keep shifting. Elsewhere, he says the reduced runtime gives a better chance to follow their favourite soaps without falling behind. Furthermore, he said this is the number of episodes fans can manage.
Chris Bisson, who plays in Emmerdale alos spoke about it. He did during the Corriedale red carpet. He said fans are waiting a long time to see both shows collide. And so this was the right way to launch the new hour. Joking further, he said people won’t complain anymore about Corrie being moved around because of football. For more Coronation Street spoilers and updates, keep following Soap Opera Daily.