UK Soaps Next Week (21–25 September, 2026): Seventeen Episodes and Three Unbroken Four-Soap Nights

Seventeen episodes between Monday 21 and Friday 25 September, and for once nothing has been knocked out of the way. That is two more than the week before, when a midweek football match took ITV1's 8pm hour off the air.

Which nights have all four soaps?

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On each of those three nights the grid runs 7pm to 9pm without a break: Hollyoaks on E4, then EastEnders on BBC One, then Emmerdale and Coronation Street on ITV1. Two hours, three channels, one remote control.

Thursday drops to ninety minutes from 7.30pm because Hollyoaks has finished its week. Friday is down to the ITV hour from 8pm, since EastEnders does not air on a Friday either. The shape is the same every ordinary week, and Friday's round-up shows what the thin end looks like.

Is EastEnders on every night next week?

Monday to Thursday, as usual, with episodes 150 to 153 at 7.30pm on BBC One. The BBC's billings give a flavour without giving much away: Kat causes concern among the people around her on Monday, Eve tries to put the Panesars back together on Tuesday, Harvey's birthday turns into a row on Wednesday, and Lauren faces a choice with no good option on Thursday.

All four land on iPlayer at 6am on the day of broadcast, which is thirteen and a half hours before the BBC One showing. The EastEnders guide has the catch-up detail.

Is Hollyoaks back on Monday?

Yes. E4 has it at 7pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, episodes 112 to 114 of Series 32, and Channel 4 streaming puts each one up at 7am the same morning. There is no Thursday or Friday episode — E4 runs The Simpsons in that slot instead, which is a reliable way to confirm nothing has gone missing.

Three episodes a week is the current pattern rather than a reduced service, and our Hollyoaks guide sets out where each one goes afterwards.

Does any football move Emmerdale or Coronation Street?

Not next week. We checked ITV1's live fixture list for 21 to 25 September and there is nothing in a weekday evening slot; the nearest matches are on the Saturdays either side, well away from the 8pm hour.

The one afternoon disruption is on Friday, when ITV1 carries racing from 1pm to just before 4pm. It ends long before the soaps and does not touch them. When a match does land in the evening, the damage is immediate and visible — see what happened on 16 September, when both ITV soaps lost their episode to the Carabao Cup.

How does seventeen compare with this week?

This week managed fifteen: four EastEnders, three Hollyoaks, and only four each of Emmerdale and Coronation Street after Wednesday's football. Next week restores the missing ITV pair, so the count goes back to the full five apiece.

Put another way, ITV1 is on air with a soap for two and a half hours next week against two hours this week. Our 14 to 18 September schedule has the week that is finishing, and the ITV times guide explains why the two sit together in the first place.

When do next week's episodes reach streaming?

Earlier than most people expect. EastEnders is on iPlayer from 6am, and both ITV soaps are on ITVX from 7am, every day they air. Hollyoaks follows the ITV pattern with a 7am drop on Channel 4 on its three days.

That means every soap episode next week is watchable before lunchtime on the day it is broadcast. The evening slot is a deadline, not a release date — a distinction worth knowing if you have been avoiding social media until 9pm.

What is on opposite the soaps next week?

BBC One's 8pm hour is the direct competition for the ITV pair, and it changes every night: Panorama on Monday, DIY SOS on Tuesday, The Repair Shop on Wednesday, and Dragons' Den on both Thursday and Friday. On Monday that Panorama edition is billed as Grooming Gangs: Why Were We Ignored?

BBC Two is the other draw, and only on Monday, when Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge run from 7.30pm to 9pm. That block sits across EastEnders and both ITV soaps, so Monday is the most contested two hours of the week. Our sister site lists it in next week's quiz line-up.

Where each soap stands going into the week

EastEnders arrives at episode 150 on Monday, having finished this week on 149 on Thursday night. Hollyoaks resumes at episode 112 of Series 32 after a four-day break, which is normal rather than a gap: E4 has never carried it on a Thursday or Friday this month.

The ITV pair are the ones to watch for a different reason. Both reached episode 172 of their own series on Friday 18 September, and next week they stay in step at five episodes each. Emmerdale spent this week an episode short because of the football; from Monday the two are back on the same footing, half an hour each, 8pm and 8.30pm, every weekday.

Questions readers ask

Is there a Friday EastEnders next week? No. BBC One runs it Monday to Thursday, and Friday 25 September is no exception.

How long are the ITV soap episodes? Half an hour each. Coronation Street has run as five half-hours a week since January 2026, and Emmerdale keeps the 8pm to 8.30pm slot.

What is on after the soaps on Friday? ITV1 follows Coronation Street with Beat the Chasers at 9pm — our sister site lists the whole week in next week's quiz line-up, and tonight's quiz times cover this evening.

Sources

• BBC One schedule, 21 September 2026, read through to 25 September for the EastEnders slots and billings
• E4 TV guide, 21 September 2026, and the same guide for 22, 23 and 24 September
• ITV TV guide, ITV1, read for each day from 21 to 25 September
• TVmaze UK schedule, 21 September 2026 (episode numbers and streaming drops)

By the UK Soap On Air desk · Updated 18 September, 9.15am BST