‘Emmerdale’ and ‘Coronation Street’ will run out of episodes in the coming weeks, ITV boss Kevin Lygo has revealed.
The Head of Studios has confirmed that ‘Emmerdale’ will stay on screens until the end of May, whilst ‘Corrie’ has enough instalments to remain on air until the end of June.
Both soaps have cut down on the number of episodes screened weekly due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has forced filming on both programmes to be suspended.
‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Emmerdale’ have been broadcasting three episodes a week compared to the usual six to keep to stay on air longer during the pandemic.
Speaking during an online Q&A as part of the Edinburgh TV Festival, Kevin also suggested that older actors such as 88-year-old William Roache, who plays ‘Corrie’ legend Ken Barlow, may be absent from filming for some time.
He said: "I don’t want Ken Barlow to get sick."
Kevin also confirmed that producers will rewrite storylines so they can limit the number of cast members involved and will also use camera trickery to adhere to social distancing.
Ian Bartholomew, who plays evil Geoff Metcalfe in ‘Coronation Street’, recently said that the show’s writers have been working "furiously" to change upcoming storylines due to the global health crisis.
He said: "We’ll have to have smaller crews. And that’s the headaches that the writers and the producers and storyliners have at the moment.
"They’re working furiously to try and pull the storylines that they’ve got back into some sort of shape that we’ll be able to tell in a different way."
The 65-year-old admits that the pandemic will "change the map of how we work" when filming gets back underway.
Ian explained: "I think in the forefront of everybody’s mind at the moment, is what happens after this is all over.
"What happens after lockdown? What happens when we get back to it?
"Because it will change. It will change the map of how we work and how we make the programme, because we’ll have to have social distancing."
Emmerdale and Coronation Street will run out of episodes in coming weeks
