It has been confirmed that filming for Emmerdale has been suspended, with the soap's schedule also set to change amid the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement released on Sunday, ITV announced that they were to cease filming of the popular show, and now a further update to their transmission schedule has been released.
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On Monday, ITV stated: "Following yesterday's announcement that filming of Coronation Street and Emmerdale will be suspended, ITV has taken the decision to reduce Emmerdale's transmission pattern to three episodes per week from Monday 30 March. The Yorkshire based soap will air on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Coronation Street airing at 7.30pm on the same nights. The change to Emmerdale's transmission pattern will ensure we have episodes of both soaps airing on ITV until at least the early summer."
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Emmerdale will be shown three nights a week
The schedule update comes soon after ITV announced they were halting filming altogether amid the pandemic. Sunday's statement read: "ITV has sadly taken the decision to suspend production of the soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale with effect from Monday 23 March. We've been doing our best to carry on filming, whilst adhering to the Government’s latest health guidelines, to ensure we've episodes of both soaps airing on ITV until at least the early summer.
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"However, the health and well-being of the production teams, actors, crew and their families is of paramount importance to us and we now feel that the time has come to stop filming. We'd like to thank our viewers for their support and hope they continue to enjoy both soaps in the coming months."
The popular soap is one of a string of television shows that have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak. BBC heavyweights such as EastEnders, Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty have also had to suspend their filming and production in accordance with latest news and advice from the World Health Organisation and Public Health England.
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