ITV Share By Rebecca Sayers 13th June 2025 By Rebecca Sayers 13th June 2025 ITV responds to rumours Emmerdale will ‘merge’ with Coronation Street There's a soap shakeup in 2026 Emmerdale 2026 ITV ITV schedule Share By Rebecca Sayers 13th June 2025 By Rebecca Sayers 13th June 2025 ITV has responded to claims that their soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street will ‘merge’ into one show. For years ITV has had two of the biggest soaps. And with the recent announcement that there will be a cross-over episode, speculation arose as to what this actually means. ITV has announced numerous shakeup’s that all start at the beginning of 2026, including their daytime shows and their soaps. But now the channel has confirmed their intentions moving forward. Two worlds are colliding (Credit ITV) Could Emmerdale move to Manchester? According to The Sun, former ITV Director of Television Peter Fincham, revealed how both Emmerdale and Coronation Street could find themselves being filmed in one location. He said on The TV Podcast: “You’ve got Coronation Street being made in Manchester, Emmerdale in Leeds. Could you imagine, rather – like the daytime consolidation – that ITV will decide to have them both made in the same place under one umbrella? Big savings. article continues below Read all the latest spoilers “You still keep Emmerdale set in Yorkshire, but it could be made in Manchester and Salford, which is a bigger hub for ITV. I don’t think that’s inconceivable – it might be being planned as we speak.” His comments come after ITV announced a ‘soap power hour’ which commences in 2026. Instead of their usual time slots, Emmerdale will be no longer air an hour long episode on Thursday’s and instead will have five 30 minute episodes. And Coronation Street will have the same. As well as this, Emmerdale will air at 8pm, rather than 7.30pm. However, it will still be available from 7am on ITVX. There has been a lot of huge moments in Emmerdale recently (Credit: ITV) ITV confirms future of soaps To kick the schedule change off, ITV confirmed Emmerdale and Coronation Street will have a special one-off cross-over episode. And two characters from the shows will actually meet! But ITV have confirmed this is not something that will happen again. And they have no plans to merge the soaps fully. An ITV spokesperson told The Sun: “ITV has no plans to merge the productions of Coronation Street and Emmerdale. “Both are uniquely set in Manchester and Leeds, and that production model will continue for the long term. It is pure speculation to say otherwise.” So while things are looking to shakeup, it seems the basic core of our beloved soaps will remain the same on ITV. As the saying goes, why fix something that isn’t broken! Read more: Funerals, affairs and killers: 6 things we want to see in Emmerdale and Coronation Street crossover episode Share this:Click to share on X (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) Good to Know Share By Rebecca Sayers 13th June 2025 By Rebecca Sayers 13th June 2025
