‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Emmerdale’ will continue filming throughout England’s second lockdown.
Coronation Street
The two ITV soaps were previously forced to axe filming plans over the spring when the UK was plunged into lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, and after it was announced last week that England will head back into a four-week lockdown from Thursday (05.11.20), doubts were cast over the soaps.
But fans won’t have to worry about missing out on episodes of their favourite shows, as both ‘Corrie’ and ‘Emmerdale’ have confirmed they will be pushing on with filming throughout the new lockdown.
A ‘Coronation Street’ spokesperson told Digital Spy: "We are adhering to the government's production guidelines and as we have health and safety protocols and measures in place we are continuing to film.”
The outlet also reported ‘Emmerdale’ has confirmed the same applies for its filming.
In March, ‘Corrie’ and ‘Emmerdale’ announced they were suspending filming ahead of the UK’s first lockdown, but both soaps returned to filming in June with the addition of a number of coronavirus related safety measures.
‘Coronation Street’ bosses originally prevented some of the show’s older stars - including the likes of Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) and Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) - from returning to set out of fear they were at risk, but they eventually made an appearance on screens again in September.
Executive producer Iain MacLeod explained in June: "In some cases we'll be telling a story that accounts for them being off screen for the time being but in other cases we'll imagine that they're just upstairs unseen.
"So it's not like we'll have to explain that they've gone away somewhere. It's purely that they're self-isolating. It has provided us with some opportunities to do some interesting stories as well.
"We have considered having some of the older cast, vulnerable cast, on Zoom calls or Skype calls or Facetiming and other ways of storytelling that incorporate that as a device."