The World Cup continues to wreak havoc on the regular scheduling of ITV soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, while BBC's EastEnders is also affected by Wimbledon coverage. The football tournament, which kicked off on June 11, will air on ITV until July 19, causing significant changes to the soap lineup.
New scheduling pattern disrupted
Just months after Coronation Street and Emmerdale adopted a new 'soap power hour' format—airing half-hour episodes back-to-back nightly instead of three hour-long Corrie episodes and a weekly hour-long Emmerdale—the World Cup has thrown the schedule into chaos. The new pattern has been frequently disrupted, with the tournament causing constant upheaval.
In addition, BBC's coverage of Wimbledon has forced several EastEnders episodes to move from BBC1 to BBC2.
Coronation Street schedule this week
Coronation Street will not air tonight (Thursday, July 9). To compensate, an hour-long episode will air on Friday, July 10, at the later time of 9:00pm. The full schedule for the week is as follows:
- Monday, July 6: 8:30pm (hour-long)
- Tuesday, July 7: No episode
- Wednesday, July 8: 8:30pm
- Thursday, July 9: No episode
- Friday, July 10: 9:00pm (hour-long)
This week's episodes saw Abi Webster (Sally Carman-Duttine) rush her young son Alfie to hospital after he struggled to breathe. Before the week ends, Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) is shocked to meet his biological father, chilling Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney). Episodes are available to stream on ITVX and YouTube from 7am on the day of airing.
Emmerdale schedule this week
Emmerdale follows the same pattern as Coronation Street this week, with no episode tonight (Thursday, July 9) and an hour-long episode on Friday, July 10, at 8:00pm. The schedule is:
- Monday, July 6: 7:30pm (hour-long)
- Tuesday, July 7: No episode
- Wednesday, July 8: 8:00pm
- Thursday, July 9: No episode
- Friday, July 10: 8:00pm (hour-long)
In the Dales, Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill) continues pursuing a relationship with his son Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches), though a mysterious robbery complicates matters. Meanwhile, Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) battles prostate cancer and clashes with his son Kyle Winchester (Huey Quinn). Episodes stream on ITVX and YouTube from 7am on air days.
EastEnders schedule this week
EastEnders airs at the usual time of 7:30pm tonight (Thursday, July 9) but on BBC2 due to Wimbledon. The weekly schedule is:
- Monday, July 6: 7:30pm (BBC1)
- Tuesday, July 7: 7:30pm (BBC2)
- Wednesday, July 8: 7:30pm (BBC2)
- Thursday, July 9: 7:30pm (BBC2)
- Friday, July 10: No episode
This week sees the climax of creepy Bea Pollard's (Ronni Ancona) story, as her manipulation of the Mitchell family is exposed, leading to a showdown with Billy and Honey (Perry Fenwick and Emma Barton). Elsewhere, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) remains suspicious of fiancé Max Branning (Jake Wood) as he continues his dangerous affair with Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan-Levy). Episodes are available on BBC iPlayer from 7am on scheduled air days.
This article was originally published on July 6, 2026.
