Is Emmerdale on tonight? No — ITV has put live coverage of Switzerland vs Canada in the 7pm slot, and the football runs until 10.35pm. That means the weeknight 8pm episode is off the schedule tonight, with Emmerdale returning in an hour-long instalment on Thursday 25 June at 8pm.
The interruption lands while Serena Sugden arrives in Emmerdale, a new addition described as a fascinating character set to bring lots of drama to the Dales dynasty. For viewers tracking the soap as a nightly appointment, the practical takeaway is simple: tonight’s episode is missing, and Thursday becomes the next fixed point.
Serena Sugden joins Emmerdale
Serena Sugden’s arrival gives Emmerdale a fresh storyline at exactly the moment the broadcaster has pushed the soap aside for live football. That pairing is awkward for a show built around weeknight rhythm, because the 8pm ITV1 slot is normally the one viewers can rely on, and the replacement is a two-and-a-half-hour sports block rather than a short schedule wobble.
The soap is not alone. Coronation Street is also off the air tonight, with ITV using the same live coverage window before ITV News at Ten follows at 10.35pm. For viewers who follow both soaps, the disruption is concentrated into one evening but stretches across the week.
Thursday 25 June at 8pm
Thursday 25 June brings the first reset: Emmerdale returns with an hour-long episode at 8pm, and Coronation Street follows at 9pm. That makes Thursday the first chance to catch up after tonight’s gap, but it does not restore the normal pattern for long.
Friday 26 June brings Norway vs France, and further World Cup coverage lands on Sunday 28 June and Monday 29 June. The soaps are not due to return until Tuesday 30 June after Thursday’s instalments, so anyone who watches live should plan around a compressed run of episodes rather than expect the usual weeknight routine.
ITV's June and Monday squeeze
Emmerdale and Coronation Street have been forced aside before, but the timing here is especially blunt because the soaps are being pushed out not by one isolated event but by a sequence of World Cup commitments. ITV is clearly prioritising the tournament block first, and the soaps are taking the late-evening hit.
For Emmerdale viewers, the immediate answer is no tonight, then a one-hour return on Thursday 25 June at 8pm. Serena Sugden’s debut will land inside that disrupted run, which should keep attention on the show once it is back on air — but for now, the schedule belongs to Switzerland vs Canada.
