Emmerdale fear soaps pulled off air in ‘axing’ blow
Coronation Street to Emmerdale are reportedly in danger after ITV announced plans to slash its soap scheduling, according to the latest betting odds
Coronation Street and Emmerdale sparks ‘axed’ fears (Image: ITV)
Fans of the big three are becoming increasingly concerned about the future of their beloved soaps. Emmerdale, Coronation Street and EastEnders have sparked fears one could be hitting the cutting room floor according to the latest odds by bookmakers Gambling.com. In May, ITV announced cuts to their daytime shows, with This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and Good Morning Britain all set to be impacted in the new year. Last month, The Guardian reported on Thursday (24 July) that ITV had implemented a cost-cutting measure after its profits fell by 44% in the first half of the year, with the broadcaster’s programming budget reportedly being reduced from £1.25 billion to £1.23 billion. As a result, The Sun has claimed that ITV is proposing that both soaps could each cut 10% of their permanent cast — cited as 84 for Corrie and 70 for Emmerdale — and have less scenes per episode in order to save money. ITV has since responded to the claims as “complete speculation”.
Following these huge changes, it was reported that the channel’s soaps could be the next to be victim of even more cuts. It was recently revealed Emmerdale and Corrie will move to a new scheduling pattern in January, which will see a “soaps power hour” take place from Monday to Friday. This has led some soap fans to speculate there could even be a possible merger between the two shows. The latest soap odds by Gambling.com revealed Emmerdale looks to be the most likely to be dropped at 10/11 favourite – from 5/4. Coronation Street – which is into 6/4, from 2/1, to be the first of the big three serial dramas axed. While highly unlikely to happen to either programme, some soap super-fans aired concerns earlier this year that Emmerdale might be dropped to save Corrie, with one even saying the Yorkshire drama – which was called Emmerdale Farm when it first started in 1972 – could be a “sacrificial lamb”.
Jeff Hordley stars as Cain Dingle on Emmerdale (Image: ITV)
Another said: “If it came down to it, ITV would sacrifice Emmerdale to save Corrie.”
A third penned: “It feels that ITV itself is linked into Coronation Street in a way, if Corrie goes then I’m not surprised what ITV looks like in the future.”
Corrie and Emmerdale had already been hit with some big cuts due to changing budgets, with both shows set to go down from six episodes a week to five from next year.
That announcement also led to fears that roles in front of and behind the camera could be axed. ITV boss Kevin Lygo did admit that there would likely be cuts, but the broadcaster “will do what [it] can to mitigate the impact on our people”.
Corrie has seen a mass cull of soap favourites in recent months as top stars have left the soap.
Sue Cleaver, Colson Smith, Charlotte Jordan and Shelley King have all departed, and Daniel Brocklebank recently announced he too will bid farewell to Weatherfield.
