When will Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks run out of new episodes

It's the moment we thought would never happen – our favourite soaps going off air. Sadly for fans, it's currently a real possibility as filming remains on pause across the industry due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

TV bosses have wisely cut back on the number of weekly episodes to keep the shows on air for as long as possible, but when will that stockpile run out? Here's a recap of what we know.

Coronation Street

Current status: Not filming. Showing three episodes per week rather than six.

ITV has confirmed that it has enough pre-filmed Coronation Street episodes in the bag to keep the show on air until early summer. In recent interviews, cast members such as Andrew Whyment (Kirk) have pinpointed June or early July as the time that episodes will run out.

Andrew has also predicted that filming would have to resume by June to give cast and crew enough time to shoot new episodes without any broadcast disruption.

Meanwhile, Melanie Hill (Cathy Matthews) has said that special precautions will be in place when work does start up again, including smaller teams of cast and crew on set.

ITV is thought to have also commissioned a four-part series celebrating the best moments of Corrie icons, which could possibly be used to fill the gap if episodes do run out.

Emmerdale

Current status: Not filming. Showing three episodes per week, rather than six or seven.

Just like Corrie, Emmerdale has enough episodes already filmed to keep the show on air until early summer. Cast members like Bradley Johnson (Vinny) and Katherine Dow Blyton (Harriet) have both spoken about having to stop filming abruptly, just when their on-screen stories were hotting up.

It's possible that Emmerdale may have a slightly bigger stockpile than other soaps, due to its weekly output often being the largest. The show often ups its episodes to seven per week at certain points in the year.

Last week, for example, an originally-planned hour-long Tuesday episode focusing on Sam and Lydia's wedding was split into two separate ones airing two days apart, spacing out the on-screen drama for longer. A planned seven-episode week takes over two weeks to broadcast on the current schedule.

EastEnders

Current status: Not filming. Showing two episodes per week rather than four.

BBC One hasn't yet specified officially when EastEnders will run out of new episodes. Jake Wood, who plays Max Branning, recently predicted on his podcast that this would be in June, although this hasn't been confirmed by the show.

The show has cut its four weekly episodes down to two to stay on air for as long as possible, but could be the first soap to disappear from our screens due to having a smaller stockpile and halting filming a few days before the other shows did.

BBC One is seemingly preparing for a period without EastEnders, having taken Holby City off air until the summer to ensure a more even spread of continuing dramas across the year.

One possible way for EastEnders to stay on air for longer would be to further reduce its output to one episode a week, although the show hasn't confirmed whether it has any plans to do this.

Hollyoaks

Current status: Not filming. Showing two episodes per week rather than five.

Hollyoaks also hasn't given an exact time period for when the show will run out of new episodes, but its current two-episodes-per-week schedule should keep it on air until early summer, as with Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

The show has managed to keep its 7pm E4 slot every weeknight by showing classic episodes – Hollyoaks Favourites – to fill the gaps. It's thought that the weekly output of Favourites will increase to five if the show does run out of new episodes.

Neighbours

Current status: Filming again from next week. Airing as normal in Australia, showing three episodes per week rather than five in the UK.

Neighbours' production company recently confirmed that it would have run out of new episodes by June if it hadn't made plans to resume filming. However, this referred to the Australian-pace broadcasts, which have stayed at five per week on 10 Peach.

Channel 5's UK broadcasts are currently falling behind the Australian airings, ensuring that we have enough episodes to keep the show running for a longer period.

The good news is that Neighbours will start filming again next week, with strict new guidelines in place to keep cast and crew safe. If the show can make a success of this plan, there should be no interruptions to the show's broadcast schedule. The TV industry is sure to be watching closely...


Home and Away

Current status: Not filming. Airing four episodes per week in Australia rather than five, and three in the UK.

Home and Away also looks likely to stick around on our screens for a long while yet. The show usually films episodes a whopping six months in advance of the Australian broadcasts, although Sam Frost – who plays Jasmine Delaney – recently confirmed that the show had already fallen behind schedule due to the bushfire crisis.

Even so, the UK broadcasts on Channel 5 are currently several weeks behind the Australian ones anyway, with the gap widening each week as we're showing three episodes per week, compared to four in Oz.

Aussie broadcaster Channel 7 has confirmed that continued broadcasts of Home and Away will be a priority in the coming months. This means fans on both sides of the world could have the Summer Bay drama on our screens for several months yet.

Digital Spy