Emmerdale and Coronation Street will run out of episodes in May and June

ITV has revealed when its two major soaps will run out of episodes after filming was halted.

ITV stopped production on both Emmerdale and Coronation Street in March due to the ongoing global health crisis.

The channel cut back on episodes airing each week but it won’t be long until they’ve run out.

ITV boss Kevin Lygo revealed during a (virtual) chat at the Edinburgh Television Festival this week that Emmerdale would stop airing in May and Corrie in June.

He added (via Guardian’s Jim Waterson) that when filming does resume older actors may be temporarily written out.

“I don’t want Ken Barlow to get sick,” the TV chief is quoted as saying.

A statement released previously about the situation read: “ITV has sadly taken the decision to suspend production of the soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale with effect from Monday 23 March.

“We’ve been doing our best to carry on filming, whilst adhering to the Government’s latest health guidelines, to ensure we’ve episodes of both soaps airing on ITV until at least the early summer.

“However, the health and well-being of the production teams, actors, crew and their families is of paramount importance to us and we now feel that the time has come to stop filming.

“We’d like to thank our viewers for their support and hope they continue to enjoy both soaps in the coming months.”

ITV previously revealed an updated schedule for both soaps, reducing the amount of episodes airing each week.

Emmerdale and Coronation Street currently air Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights at 7PM and 7:30PM respectively.

Over on the BBC, EastEnders has seen a reduced schedule with episodes now only airing twice weekly – Mondays 8pm and Tuesdays 7.30pm.