ITV soap fans expecting to tune in for their daily dose of Coronation Street and Emmerdale this evening will be in for a nasty surprise, as both shows have once again been pulled from schedules.
It comes less than three months after the soaps were at the centre of a massive schedule shake-up, with the broadcaster launching a ‘soap power hour’.
The change was kicked off with the seismic events of the biggest UK soap event: the utter behemoth that was Corriedale.
Since that epic episode, viewers have been treated to an hour of soap goodness every weeknight, with Emmerdale airing from 8pm until 8.30pm, followed immediately by Coronation Street from 8.30pm until 9pm.
Since the change, though, there’s been a number of disruptions to the schedule, more often than not due to coverage of sports events, which is the case again today.
Why aren’t Emmerdale and Coronation Street on tonight?
There’ll be no Emmerdale or Corrie on this evening (Friday, March 6) on ITV1 or ITVX.
ITV will instead broadcast live coverage of the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations clash between Wales and Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, in a move that’s sure to further irritate soap viewers.
The soap power hour will resume from Monday, March 9, with episodes streaming on ITVX and YouTube from 7am, prior to ITV1 transmission.
Fans react to previous disruptions
This isn’t the first time the soaps have been taken off air since the new power hour was implemented, and it’s certainly been rubbing fans up the wrong way.
The coverage of the Newcastle United v Manchester City football game on January 13 wiped both Emmerdale and Corrie from the schedule just one week after the launch of the new transmission pattern.
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A few weeks later, on the week commencing Monday, February 2, both soaps were removed from the schedule for two nights that week.
On Tuesday, February 3, the Arsenal v Chelsea football match meant no soap power hour and two days later, on Thursday, February 5, they were cut again due to a Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland.
Social media blew up with disappointment from soap fans; one viewer said: ‘I am fed up of soaps being cancelled due to football. Can’t they put the games on a dedicated ‘free’ channel?’
A further two agreed by adding: ‘This is so painful. There are very few shows that I like to watch but they keep being shunted’ and ‘This whole new schedule is a ploy to tear our beloved soap episodes away from us’.
There was also a heated discussion among Metro readers about whether soaps should be cut for sports coverage, and there were some very passionate responses!
What’s still to come on Coronation Street and Emmerdale?
When Coronation Street and Emmerdale return next week, there will be drama aplenty for our favourite soap characters.
On the cobbles, there’s a love triangle forming between Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton), Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) and Ollie Driscoll (Raphael Akuwudike), which is awkward to say the least, given that it will later be revealed that their dads, Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker) are half-brothers!
Elsewhere, Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) steps up his abuse of Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) in harrowing scenes, while Jodie Ramsey’s (Olivia Frances-Brown) blatant disregard for her neighbours infuriates Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson).
Across the Pennines in the Dales, Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) finally opens up to Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) about his cancer diagnosis, as Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) struggles to keep the truth from Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper).
Meanwhile, Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) leaves Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) with a choice to make, and Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) gets news on Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards).
This article was first published on March 2, 2026 and has been updated.