ITV has confirmed that both Emmerdale and Coronation Street will be getting an extra episode for the second week in a row. We already knew about the episodes this Sunday (29 March), but now we know that both soaps will also air on Easter Sunday (5 April).
On both Sundays, the episodes will air earlier than usual, with Emmerdale at 7pm and Corrie at 7.30pm.
If you’re the kind of person who watches on-demand via ITVX or YouTube, these episodes should be dropping in the morning as per usual.
ITV
Related: Best streaming services
The schedule for ITV’s soaps has been pretty chaotic lately, partly due to various sporting events but also due to repeats of Vera. You can find out exactly what the schedule changes are for the upcoming week right here.
Essentially, the Sunday episodes are making up for the episodes that are fans are missing out on due to all of the changes in scheduling.
And while next week is another messy one, it looks like the week commencing on Easter Monday (6 April) is back to normal.
That means, when you factor in the Easter Sunday episodes, it’s the first time each soap has aired three hours worth of episodes across a seven-day period since January.
ITV
Related: Coronation Street cements Steve McDonald’s future with big move
Don’t get used to it though, as ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment Kevin Lygo strongly believes that five episodes at 30-minutes each a week is “the right amount of episodes that fans can fit into their viewing schedule.
“[They] better provide the opportunity to meet viewer expectations for storyline pace, pay-off and resolution”.
“These changes are motivated by doing what we believe is best for the continuing success of these important programmes in the long term.”
Emmerdale and Coronation Street both air on ITV1 and stream on ITVX and YouTube.
For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast from Inside Soap magazine. The latest episode delves into next week’s soap spoilers for EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale – as Gary Windass battles Theo Silverton, and Kim Tate is rocked by a poisoning mystery!
