Kevin Lygo Pulls Emmerdale From 9 June Schedule — Is Emmerdale On Tonight

is emmerdale on tonight? No: ITV pulled Emmerdale from its usual 8pm slot on 9 June to make room for football coverage, and Coronation Street was shifted as well. The soap will not air in its normal place again on 10 June, before both shows return as hour-long episodes on 12 June.

Kevin Lygo and the five-episode week

Kevin Lygo said earlier this year that ITV had reduced its weekly soaps output from six episodes to five, with the broadcaster aiming to keep viewers current without overloading the schedule. He said: "We believe this is the right amount of episodes that fans can fit into their viewing schedule, to keep up to date with the shows."

He also said: "Research insights also show us that soap viewers are increasingly looking to the soaps for their pacey storytelling. Streaming-friendly, 30-minute episodes better provide the opportunity to meet viewer expectations for storyline pace, pay-off and resolution."

That change had already moved the soaps into a tighter weekly pattern, so the football carve-outs on 9 June and 10 June cut directly into a schedule ITV had already slimmed down.

England, Ukraine, Costa Rica

ITV used 9 June for the women's European qualifiers, with England facing Ukraine in a broadcast running from 7:30pm to 10:25pm. On 10 June, England were due to take on Costa Rica live from Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, with coverage starting at 8pm and kick off at 9pm.

Emmerdale normally airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, while Coronation Street follows at 8:30pm, so both were displaced on consecutive nights. Both soaps can be streamed from 7am on the day of broadcast on ITVX, which leaves regular viewers with the option of watching later in the day rather than waiting for the next linear slot.

12 June hour-long episodes

Both soaps were due to return on Friday 12 June as hour-long episodes, making up for the missing instalments after two nights of sport-heavy scheduling. For viewers who follow both series in real time, the immediate practical move is simple: skip the 8pm and 8:30pm ITV1 slots on 9 June and 10 June, then look for the longer episodes on 12 June.

With ITV also set to carry the World Cup opener on 11 June, the soap schedule has been squeezed by a run of live football rather than a one-off change. The broadcaster has already shown it is willing to trade short-term disruption for sports coverage, and this week’s answer for soap viewers is to check the later stream or wait for the hour-long return.