Why Isn't Coronation Street On? The ITV1 Football Nights Moving Corrie and Emmerdale
The gist: When ITV1 shows a live evening match, Coronation Street and Emmerdale come off for the night. The episodes aren't lost; the numbering simply carries on the next weeknight, and there's no 7am ITVX release on the football day either.
| Date | Match on ITV1 | Kick-off | What happens to the soaps | How sure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 26 Sep | England v Spain (Nations League) | 7.45pm BST | Nothing — no soaps on Saturdays | Fixture listed |
| Tue 29 Sep | Czech Republic v England (Nations League) | 7.45pm BST | No Emmerdale, no Corrie | Happened as listed |
| Sat 3 Oct | Croatia v England (Nations League) | 5pm BST | Nothing — Saturday | Fixture listed |
| Tue 6 Oct | England v Czech Republic (Nations League) | 7.45pm BST | No Emmerdale, no Corrie | Confirmed by ITV's guide |
| Wed 28 Oct | Liverpool v Chelsea (Carabao Cup, fourth round) | 8pm GMT | No Emmerdale, no Corrie | Confirmed by ITV's guide |
| Thu 12 Nov | England v Croatia (Nations League) | 7.45pm GMT | No Emmerdale, no Corrie | Confirmed by ITV's guide (read Tue 10 Nov) |
The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October, which is why the last two kick-offs read GMT.
Why isn't Coronation Street on tonight?
If it's a weeknight, the answer is almost always live football on ITV1. Emmerdale and Corrie share a single hour, 8pm to 9pm, and a match with a 7.45pm kick-off swallows all of it. ITV doesn't push the soaps to a later slot; it drops them for the evening.
We saw it on Wednesday 16 September, when the Carabao Cup took ITV1 from 7.30pm and Coronation Street missed a night, and again on Tuesday 29 September with an England match. Tuesday 6 October was the same story.
Is Coronation Street on Tuesday 6 October?
No, it wasn't. ITV's guide for that day ran The Chase at 5pm and the regional and evening news until 7pm, then handed ITV1 to the UEFA Nations League from 7pm until News at Ten at 10.05pm. England v Czech Republic was listed with a 7.45pm kick-off. The night has its own page: why Corrie wasn't on that Tuesday.
TVmaze's episode lists back that up from the soap side. Both shows have episode 182 on Monday 5 October and episode 183 on Wednesday 7 October, with nothing in between. That leaves four weeknight episodes of each soap in the week of 5 October rather than the usual five, though ITV1's listings add one of each on Sunday 11 October. Tuesday 29 September went the same way, with episode 178 on the Monday and 179 on the Wednesday.
Does ITVX still get the episode at 7am on a football day?
No. The 7am ITVX drop is the same episode that airs that night, so with no broadcast there's nothing to release. The next new Corrie and Emmerdale after Tuesday 6 October were the Wednesday 7 October episodes, listed for ITVX at 7am that day.
ITV's guide for the 6th did still list older episodes, badged Classic Coronation Street and Classic Emmerdale, on ITV3 during the day. Those were archive runs, not the missing instalment.
Which other nights will football move Corrie and Emmerdale?
After Tuesday 6 October, Live Football on TV lists two more weeknight fixtures for ITV1 before the end of November: Liverpool v Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday 28 October, and England v Croatia on Thursday 12 November. Liverpool v Chelsea kicks off at 8pm, per Liverpool FC; England v Croatia is listed for 7.45pm.
ITV's guide, read on Sunday 25 October, now confirms the first of them: Carabao Cup Live fills ITV1 in the evening on Wednesday 28 October and neither soap is listed that night. ITV's guide, read on Tuesday 10 November, now confirms the second: England v Croatia fills ITV1 on Thursday 12 November from 7pm and neither new soap episode is listed that night.
Two England Women play-off legs are also on the list. Greece Women v England Women on Friday 9 October is now down for ITV1 with a 5.30pm kick-off, and ITV's guide (read Sunday 4 October) runs the coverage from 5pm to 7.50pm, then Emmerdale at 8pm and Coronation Street at 8.30pm as usual, so it isn't a clash. The return leg on Tuesday 13 October at 7.30pm was listed on ITV4 rather than ITV1 by Live Football on TV (checked Saturday 3 October), and ITV's guide for that day has ITV1 running Emmerdale at 8pm and Coronation Street at 8.30pm as usual, so it wasn't a clash.
Does ITV football affect EastEnders or Hollyoaks?
No. EastEnders is on BBC One and Hollyoaks on E4, so ITV's matches leave them alone; EastEnders stays at 7.30pm and Hollyoaks at 7pm on their usual nights.
BBC football can do the same job, though. On Thursday 24 September, BBC One Wales showed Portugal v Wales, and EastEnders moved to BBC Two Wales at 7.30pm for viewers there.
What should I watch instead on a football night?
The quickest fix is the previous weeknight's episode, if you haven't seen it yet: each one goes on ITVX at 7am on the day it airs. After that, the rest of the week's soaps run to their normal pattern, which our night-by-night soap guide lays out, and the full ITV1 soap timetable is in our Corrie and Emmerdale times guide.
Questions readers ask
Do Corrie and Emmerdale make up the missed night with a double bill?
Not in the weeks we've checked. The run just resumes the next weeknight, one episode a night, so the week ends up shorter.
Is Emmerdale on when Corrie isn't?
No, on football nights both go. They sit back to back in the same hour; our Emmerdale guide covers its own slot in detail.
Are the soaps on at the weekend instead?
Not normally. None of the four soaps has a regular Saturday or Sunday slot, though ITV1's listings show Emmerdale at 8pm and Coronation Street at 8.30pm on Sunday 11 October; our weekend guide explains what's available to stream. If you're in the mood for ITV1's teatime quizzes before the match, our sister site has The Chase guide.
Sources
- itv.com TV guide, Wednesday 28 October (ITV1: Carabao Cup Live, kick-off 20:00 UK time; no Emmerdale or Coronation Street. Emmerdale 20:00 and Coronation Street 20:30 on Monday 26, Tuesday 27, Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October. The guide shows times in the reader's time zone, converted here to UK time)
- itv.com TV guide, Tuesday 6 October (ITV1: ITV Evening News 18:30, UEFA Nations League 19:00–22:05, ITV News at Ten 22:05 UK time; no Emmerdale or Coronation Street; Emmerdale 20:00 and Coronation Street 20:30 on Wednesday 7 October)
- itv.com TV guide, 13 to 19 October (ITV1: Emmerdale 20:00 and Coronation Street 20:30 UK time on Tuesday 13, Wednesday 14, Thursday 15, Friday 16 and Monday 19 October; no football on ITV1 in that run)
- itv.com TV guide, Tuesday 29 September (ITV1: The Chase 17:00, ITV Evening News 18:30, UEFA Nations League 19:00–22:05, ITV News at Ten 22:05 UK time; no Emmerdale or Coronation Street)
- Live Football on TV: football on ITV (fixtures and kick-off times for 26 September to 12 November, including the England Women play-off legs: 9 October on ITV1, 13 October listed as ITV4)
- TVmaze: Coronation Street episode list (Series 67 episodes 178 on 28 September and 179 on 30 September, 182 on 5 October and 183 on 7 October, nothing on either Tuesday)
- TVmaze: Emmerdale episode list (Series 55 episodes 178 on 28 September and 179 on 30 September, 182 on 5 October and 183 on 7 October, nothing on either Tuesday)
- Why Are Emmerdale and Coronation Street On Sunday 11 October? ITV1's Extra Night Explained
- Why Isn't Coronation Street On Tuesday 6 October? England Take ITV1, Emmerdale Off Too
- Why Isn't Emmerdale On Tuesday? England's Match Takes ITV1, and Corrie Is Off Too
- Why Is Coronation Street Not On Tonight? No Corrie or Emmerdale on Wednesday 16 September — Here's When They're Back