‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Emmerdale’ bosses will pay stars for three months despite halting production.
The soap world has been hit by filming breaks and reduced broadcast schedules during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but it’s said the cast have come to an arrangement to "provide financial security.
A ‘Corrie’ spokeswoman told The Sun Online: "’Coronation Street’ and ‘Emmerdale’ have reached an agreement with Equity to provide financial security for regular cast members for the next three months.
"The specific details of this agreement will remain private as this is a contractual matter."
The cast are paid with an annual salary, plus bonuses for each episode they appear in.
An insider said: "This is a very fair and consistent deal which treats everyone equally, and is in recognition of the fact we’ll need to hit the ground running once filming safely recommences."
Meanwhile, it’s said the cast are "relieved" to know ITV will "honour" their contracts despite the difficult situation.
A source added: "The stars have been told that they will be looked after and their contracts will be honoured no matter how many episodes they do or don’t appear in during the shutdown.
"Obviously if someone has an agreement to appear in 100 episodes but they only get to act in 50 during because of the break this would have a massive impact on their earning power so the cast members are relieved that ITV will honour the payments."
Equity – the British actors trade union – has also secured support for people working in other dramas like ‘EastEnders’, ‘Doctors’, ‘Hollyoaks’, ‘Holby City’, ‘Casualty’, ‘River City’ and ‘Pobol y Cwm’.
The organisation’s head of recorded media John Barclay said: "By securing financial protection for artists now, we go some way towards safeguarding a vibrant future for the industry when this crisis is behind us and production can resume."
Coronation Street and Emmerdale stars will be paid during filming lockdown
