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1 May 2020, 08:26 | Updated: 1 May 2020, 08:31
When will Coronation Street, Eastenders and Emmerdale be forced off air due to coronavirus? Find out everything...
With the government continuing to implement social distancing rules, TV soaps have been forced to stop production.
This means production of Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders and Hollyoaks has all been put on hold, with sets shut and actors told to stay at home.
But with uncertainty over when things will start to get back to normal, the nation’s favourite teatime shows could soon run out of episodes.
So, when will Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks be forced off air? Find out everything…
Coronation Street has enough episodes to last until June if filming doesn't recommence, claimed ITV boss Kevin Lygo.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2020, Kevin confirmed to press that Corrie would continue for the time being but would run out of episodes at some point in June.
In March it was announced that Coronation Street would be reducing the number of episodes they show each week, to ensure fans can enjoy them for as long as possible.
An ITV spokesperson said: "In the coming weeks some episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale will understandably be out of kilter due to the temporary transmission pattern for both programmes, which takes effect from Monday, March 30.”
Coronation Street now airs just three episodes, rather than six, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7.30pm.
When asked when the current episodes would last until, a spokesperson for the soap confirmed they have enough episodes to ‘take us through till the summer.’
In a recent interview, actor Andrew Whyment (Kirk Sutherland) suggested that episodes will run out in June or early July.
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He added that filming would have to resume by June to give cast and crew enough time to shoot new episodes without being forced off air.
Actress Melanie Hill - who plays Cathy Matthews - also added that things would change when they got back on set, including smaller teams of cast and crew on set.
It’s not known what will replace the soap if it is forced off air, ITV could run classic episodes of the soap, while there is also reports of a four-part series celebrating the best moments of Corrie icons.
EastEnders was the first to close its sets, and bosses announced on March 18 they would be reducing its number of episodes per week, down from four to two.
Episodes now air on Mondays at 8pm and Tuesdays at 7:30pm.
It’s thought the BBC soap could be the first to be forced off air as it has a smaller stockpile of episodes and stopped filming a few days before the others.
While EastEnders has refused to comment on when episodes will run out, Max Branning actor Jake Wood recently guessed it would be in June during an episode of his podcast.
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Emmerdale will run out of episodes at the end of May if filming doesn't recommence, claimed ITV boss Kevin Lygo.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2020, Kevin confirmed to press that the ITV soap has filmed enough to last them until the end of the month.
When it comes to Hollyoaks, there is no exact time period for when the show will be forced off air.
It was reduced down from five episodes to two-episodes-per-week in order to keep it on air until early summer.
It has also been showing Hollyoaks Favourites episodes at 7pm on E4 to fill the gaps.
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