This Week's Soaps (14–18 September): EastEnders Mon–Thu, Corrie and Emmerdale Off Wednesday for the Carabao Cup, Hollyoaks Mon–Wed
Short version: 15 new soap episodes this week, one fewer each for Corrie and Emmerdale than usual. ITV1 has live football on Wednesday 16 September, so the ITV soap hour takes the night off. EastEnders and Hollyoaks aren't affected.
Which soaps are on this week?
| Day | 7pm E4 | 7.30pm BBC One | 8pm ITV1 | 8.30pm ITV1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 14 | Hollyoaks | EastEnders | Emmerdale | Coronation Street |
| Tue 15 | Hollyoaks | EastEnders | Emmerdale | Coronation Street |
| Wed 16 | Hollyoaks | EastEnders | Carabao Cup Live (7.30pm–10.25pm) | |
| Thu 17 | — | EastEnders | Emmerdale | Coronation Street |
| Fri 18 | — | — | Emmerdale | Coronation Street |
Streaming times don't change: EastEnders on iPlayer at 6am, Corrie and Emmerdale on ITVX at 7am, Hollyoaks on Channel 4 at 7am (the last two by listings). Our guides to EastEnders, Corrie and Emmerdale and Hollyoaks go through each.
Why are Coronation Street and Emmerdale not on Wednesday?
ITV1 is showing Manchester United v Brighton in the Carabao Cup third round. ITV's guide has coverage running from 7.30pm to 10.25pm, which swallows the whole 8pm to 9pm soap hour.
No episode goes missing, though. Coronation Street runs from episode 11943 on Tuesday to 11944 on Thursday in TV Guide UK's listings, and Emmerdale from 10658 to 10659. Both return at their usual times on Thursday 17 September.
Tuesday's Carabao Cup match, Liverpool v Tottenham, is on ITV4 and doesn't touch ITV1.
Our episode tally
| Soap | Episodes this week | Episode numbers | Normal week |
|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders | 4 | 7399–7402 | 4 |
| Emmerdale | 4 | 10657–10660 | 5 |
| Coronation Street | 4 | 11942–11945 | 5 |
| Hollyoaks | 3 | 6770–6772 | 3 |
That's seven and a half hours of soap in total. Friday is the lightest night, with only the ITV1 hour.
What happens in EastEnders this week?
Spoilers from here to the end of the soap sections. The fallout from Zoe's death dominates.
Monday 14 September
Kat finds Zoe and at first keeps it to herself, before Alfie learns the truth too. Jean, Mo and Lily are packing up to leave No.31 for The Vic when the news reaches them (Digital Spy; the BBC's own line is that Kat is devastated by what she discovers).
Tuesday 15 September
Kat shuts everyone out, and Oscar tries to comfort her by describing how his mum coped after Abi's death. When she finds a vigil being held in Zoe's bedroom, she throws everyone out.
Wednesday 16 September
Vinny's 30th. Penny weighs up telling him he may not be the father, goes into labour at the party and has a boy; Harry and Gina get a worse-for-wear Vinny to the hospital in time. Someone overhears Penny deciding to keep quiet.
Thursday 17 September
Zoe's post-mortem results leave Kat wanting answers, and Sharon suggests asking Jack for help. What they uncover shocks her.
What happens in Coronation Street this week?
Radio Times's preview for 14 to 18 September has Jodie stepping up her campaign to make her sister Shona look unstable, including a kitchen fire scare around a school bake sale cake.
Elsewhere, Kit struggles after his secret breast cancer diagnosis, and Carl grows more worried about Debbie's dementia symptoms. Ross says something that could damage his relationship with his son Tyrone.
On the lighter side, there are sparks between Bethany and Ryan, and Summer meets a new love interest. Ben has doubts about Susie's ambitions, and Asha gets ready to go back to work as a paramedic.
Radio Times doesn't split these by night, so we haven't either. Remember there's no Wednesday episode. Cast and character news for the street goes on our Coronation Street page.
What happens in Emmerdale this week?
Monday 14 September
A lockdown and cell search at the prison leave Charity having a panic attack and moved to segregation. Chas calls a family meeting; with Mackenzie threatening to talk, Sarah confesses everything to Jacob.
Tuesday 15 September
Sadie gets Nicola's house keys and passes them to Robert for a burglary. Finding no money, they plan a trip to Whitby to look for clues. Joe insists on a private funeral with nobody but himself.
Thursday 17 September
Billy confronts Joe, who won't let him or the children attend. Ruby's plea gets nowhere, and Lewis thinks about nudging Vinny towards a proposal.
Friday 18 September
Joe relents on the funeral but tells Graham he's planning revenge. Sadie drops a bombshell on Cain, and Lewis proposes to Vinny, whose hesitation sends him away humiliated.
That's four episodes that move almost every major Emmerdale thread forward before the weekend. The Emmerdale page collects the rest.
What happens in Hollyoaks this week?
Channel 4's Monday synopsis has Jonah enforcing a lockdown and the police receiving evidence about Ste's disappearance. Tuesday's and Wednesday's synopses weren't published when we checked this morning, and we haven't filled the gap with guesses.
What's on next week?
From the listings so far, all four soaps return to their normal pattern from Monday 21 September, including Coronation Street and Emmerdale on Wednesday 23 September. For tonight only, see tonight's soaps, and for cast news keep an eye on updates.
Questions readers ask
Is Emmerdale on Friday?
Yes, 8pm on ITV1, followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm.
Is EastEnders on Wednesday?
Yes. The football is on ITV1, not BBC One.
Is anything on for quiz fans during the football?
ITV1's afternoon quizzes aren't affected. Our sister site's UK quiz week has the details.
Sources
- BBC One London schedule (EastEnders, 14–17 September)
- ITVX TV guide, ITV1 (Carabao Cup Live, 16 September)
- Radio Times: Coronation Street spoilers, 14–18 September
- Digital Spy: EastEnders and Emmerdale episode previews
- TV Guide UK listings and Channel 4: Hollyoaks