Thursday is 'soap day' for ITV1

Soap lovers! Get ready for 'soap Thursday' on ITV1, as the schedules for Coronation Street and Emmerdale change from July 23.

Actresses Michelle Keegan and Sammy Winward - Coronation Street's Tina McIntyre and Emmerdale's Katie Sugden respectively - teamed up to promote the changes, which will see Corrie's Wednesday episode move on a day with two episodes of Emmerdale being shown on a Thursday night.

Coronation Street is being moved from its 7.30pm slot on a Wednesday to 8.30pm on Thursdays, to reflect ITV1's commitment to its football coverage.

Meanwhile, Emmerdale's hour-long episode on a Tuesday night will be cut to 30 minutes to allow for Thursdays double-bill.

This means that soap fans can now settle down on Thursdays to watch episodes of Emmerdale at 7pm and 8pm, followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm.

The exciting new look will be topped off with the new 9pm screening of The Bill.

An ITV spokesman said: "Coronation Street will make a move from Wednesday to Thursday nights on ITV1 from July 23 as part of a change to the schedule to reflect ITV's contracts for the Champions League, FA Cup and England internationals, which will see ITV1's live football broadcast on Wednesday evenings.

"In addition, two separate episodes of Emmerdale will be broadcast on Thursdays from the same date. We're delighted that Thursday evenings on ITV1 will be a great showcase for soap from Weatherfield and The Woolpack."

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