Emmerdale and Coronation Street are set to change times from March in a huge schedule shake up.
The much-loved ITV soaps will see their times altered from March 2022, as ITV expand their news programme for an hour between 6.30 and 7.30pm.
It now means Emmerdale will air at a consistent 7.30pm slot whilst Coronation Street will now broadcast hour-long episodes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm.
ITV announced the news on Monday morning, with Emmerdale and Coronation Street's individual official Twitter accounts confirming the news.
"Schedule Change: Emmerdale is moving! From March, you can watch us every weekday at our brand-new time of 7.30pm," a post on Emmerdale's official social media accounts read.
Corrie fans were given the news via Twitter, as their official account shared: "Coming This March: Hour long Coronation Street episodes at 8pm on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays! #Corrie @itv @WeAreSTV @emmerdale."
John Whiston, ITV's Managing Director of Continuing Drama said: "With Coronation Street bursting at the seams with fantastic story and character, the new format gives the show a brilliant new canvas on which to shine. And Emmerdale will do what it does best in this new time slot where viewers can continue to enjoy the dramatic goings on in the Dales."
ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, Kevin Lygo added: "The nation’s two most popular continuing dramas, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, are fundamental to the success of ITV, and we know that, as with all dramas, viewers increasingly watch them whenever, and however they choose. The new scheduling means that viewers can watch them live on TV in one go in a continuous soap fix, as well as on ITV Hub where they are regularly in the most watched shows every month."
Emmerdale are celebrating their 50th anniversary later this year, and bosses previously teased a month full of huge celebrations - and of course a lot of drama - as the show marks the occasion.
Speaking to The Mirror and other press, the show's producers teased: "We’ve been thinking about the 50th all the time.
"I think we probably held back some of our big ideas while Covid was so prominent in our lives because we didn’t know what we could achieve. But Super Soap Week has really shown us what we can do."
They added: "And as brilliant as stunts are - we’ve got to have the stories to back up those stunts. We can blow up anything but if there’s no story behind it - what’s the point? Our focus at the moment is to really build those stories so when we get to our Golden Month of Celebration, we’ve got secrets that the viewers are desperate to be revealed."
