Coronation Street and Emmerdale unveil their new timeslots in HUGE ITV shakeup

Coronation Street and Emmerdale have unveiled their new schedule after ITV confirmed the soaps are moving timeslots in a huge shake-up.

With spring on the horizon, the soaps are set to enter a new chapter packed with drama, schemes and families at war, with newly scheduled episodes beginning on Monday 7th March.

The announcement comes just days after BBC rival EastEnders confirmed that they will be axing their usual Friday episode in favour of airing from Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm.

Coming soon: Coronation Street (Sally Carman is pictured as Abi Webster) and Emmerdale have unveiled their new schedule after ITV announced their new timeslots in a huge shake-up

Corrie will now air three hour-long episodes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm, dropping their prevous double bills which had been a fixture of the ITV schedule.

The coming weeks will see the Street’s most beloved residents face the drama and horror of past secrets and lies coming back to haunt them. 

After a tumultuous year which saw her son Seb Franklin beaten to death in a hate crime, Abi Webster (played by Sally Carman) seems more determined than ever to focus on her new life with husband Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and his son Jack.

Exciting: In the coming weeks viewers will be gripped by dramatic storylines, with Chas and Charity Dingle declaring war in the Dales after their events fall on the same day

Sinister: Elsewhere, a life of mistakes for Adam Barlow will finally catch up with him as his deranged ex Lydia Chambers grows more determined to get her revenge

However, it isn’t long before Kevin discovers she cheated on him, but rather than learning about her one-night tand with Imran Habeeb (Charlie De Melo), he believes she slept with Seb’s dad Tez.

Regardless, Kevin declares that their marriage is over, and Abi quickly presses the self-destruct button, seeking help from her old drug dealer pal, and in scenes airing on March 6th she finds herself in a high-speed car chase.

Dumped by the side of the road drugged up and in agony, Abi calls an ambulance and is rushed to hospital, where she has a life changing decision to make.

Scary: Finally, fans will see a dark new side to Daisy Midgely in the coming weeks, as she becomes hell-bent on having Daniel Osbourne all to herself

Soap schedule shake-up: What’s on? 

EMMERDALE – Monday to Thursday for 30 minutes at 7:30pm, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays 

CORONATION STREET – Mondays, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm for one hour

EASTENDERS – Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm for 30 minutes

HOLLYOAKS – Monday to FridaY at 6:30pm, with a first-look episode on E4 at 7pm and each episode available in the morning to stream on All4

Elsewhere, a life of mistakes for Adam Barlow (Samuel Robertson) will finally catch up with him as his deranged ex Lydia Chambers (Rebecca Ryan) grows more determined to get her revenge by turning his wife Sarah (Tina O’Brien) against him.

In dramatic scenes Adam finally comes face-to-face with his tormentor for a tense showdown, but when Lydia gets him arrested, it appears that his life could still be in danger.

Killer Gary Windass (Mikey North) has spent two years getting away with murder, but Kelly Neelan’s terminally ill mum Laura 9Kel Allen) becomes determined to find out what happened to her ex Rick.

Laura hires a private detective forcing Gary to answer some very tricky questions, and when news reaches him of a building development where he buried Rick’s body, it looks as though the house of cards is about to come tumbling down. 

Finally, fans will see a dark new side to Daisy Midgely (Charlotte Jordan) in the coming weeks, as she becomes hell-bent on having Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) all to herself.

Even though things are going well between the couple, Daisy is furious when she discovers his former flame, ex call girl Nicky (Kimberly Hart-Simpson), has returned to the Street and applied for a job at the school where he works.

As the green-eyed monster makes an appearance, Daisy pulls out all the stops to keep the two apart, and it remains to be seen how she’ll react when she learns about Nicky’s sordid past.

Disaster: Gary Windass has spent two years averting justice for his crimes, but in the coming weeks it appears that his house of perfectly-placed cards will finally come crashing down

With Nicky determined to stick around, even applying for a job at Daniel’s school, how will Daisy react when she discovers the truth about Nicky’s past life?

Coronation Street Producer Iain MacLeod said: ‘It’s an exciting time for the show and these stories will propel us into the hour-long era with a bang and all the characteristic drama, humour, twists and intrigue that Corrie viewers have come to expect.

‘We’ve got high-octane action with tragic heroine Abi, leading to life and death dilemmas. We’ve got riotous romantic intrigue for Daniel, with deliciously dastardly Daisy pulling out all the stops to keep her man. 

‘We’ve got the uber-complex Gary, who has finally turned his life around and is atoning for his sins with Kelly, only to find himself facing a final reckoning with the ghosts from his past. 

‘And we’ve got heart-stopping, high-stakes drama for Sarah, featuring a knife-edge showdown between Adam and his tormentor Lydia, which will leave you wondering which one’s the bad guy. All of this in one big serving per night. What’s not to love?’

Drama! Meanwhile over in the Dales, the Dingle family is once again thrown into turmoil as cousins Charity and Chas declare war

Meanwhile over in the Dales, the Dingle family is once again thrown into turmoil as cousins Charity and Chas declare war.

As both the Woolpack pub and the B&B plan to host special events on the same day, the warring landladies take sides and create havoc in a battle of one-upmanship.

While neither holds back in their attempts to sabotage each other’s events, there’s bound to be fireworks when they finally come face to face. 

Elsewhere in the village, Mandy (Lisa Riley) is traumatised to discover her only son Vinny has married his girlfriend Liv (Isobel Steele) without her knowledge. 

Vinny (Bradley Johnson) is guilt-ridden when Mandy explains that she feels betrayed and sees his secret wedding as completely disrespectful, so it remains to be seen whether he can rebuild bridges in the family. 

Even though her serial killer sister is finally in custody, Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker) still isn’t safe, and as she grows increasingly desperate to see Meena confess to her crime, she pays her a visit in prison. 

Upset: Vinny (Bradley Johnson) is guilt-ridden when Mandy explains that she feels betrayed that he secretly married his girlfriend Liv without her knowledge

Following ITV’s original announcement that Corrie would be moving timeslots, placing it in direct competition with EastEnders, its BBC rival announced earlier thi week that they would also be shaking up their schedule.

The change will see the BBC soap air Monday-Thursday at 7.30pm with episodes now in direct competition with ITV’s Emmerdale. 

For the first time, fans can tune into the antics of Albert Square on a Wednesday, with the permanent schedule change coming into play from March 7.

Speaking of the changes, Kates Oates, Head of Continuing Drama at BBC Studios said: ‘We’re delighted that, from 7th March, there will be new regular time slots for EastEnders on BBC One, and Doctors on BBC Two.

‘Both shows have a loyal following; and this new simplified schedule means it’s even easier for viewers to get their fix, as well as being able to watch whenever and wherever they choose on iPlayer.

At odds: Even though her serial killer sister is finally in custody, Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker) still isn’t safe, and as she grows increasingly desperate to see Meena confess to her crime

‘A 7pm time slot gives a whole new audience chance to enjoy the drama in Letherbridge; while EastEnders’ new 7.30pm slot begins with a hugely exciting week, as killer Gray Atkins is finally exposed…’  

A source told The Mirror that EastEnders schedule shake-up were a direct result of ITV’s changes, stating: ‘Bosses made the decision to change up the schedule when ITV made their announcement.

‘In the past, if there was ever a clash between the soaps it was the audience who lost out, but viewers consume TV differently these days.’

Bosses at BBC were said to no longer be worried about schedule clashes as fans can catch-up on BBC iPlayer, with the source continuing: ‘It’s no longer about the overnight ratings because they don’t reflect the true picture of who is tuning in. 

‘You only have to look at the numbers watching EastEnders on iPlayer, the figures are pretty incredible.’

Big moves: The announcement comes just days after BBC rival EastEnders confirmed that they will be axing their usual Friday episode in favour of airing from Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm

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