Regular soap slots for ITV's Coronation Street and Emmerdale have made way this week for the Rugby World Cup, in a huge schedule shake-up that has left viewers fuming and irritated.
Fans were already bracing themselves for the changes in the last week of this month as the soap stalwarts were set to clash with the channel's coverage of the Rugby World Cup.
Starting on Monday this week, fans had to reset their TV schedules and planned recordings to ensure they didn't miss the coverage of their favourite storylines.
Coronation Street is usually aired on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday but fans of the soap won't catch tomorrow's episode anymore due to a match between New Zealand and Italy at 7.30pm. A special one-off hour-long episode was shown on Tuesday instead but fans that weren't aware of the schedule change are mad they've missed it.
Although the change was announced on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: "Slight schedule change again this week everyone! Don't miss us on ITV or ITVX," fans were still not happy.
One fan said: "I wish they would just leave it – fuming," while another noted a disastrous clash.
They said: "It clashes with Bake Off" with another simply adding: "Not happy, so irritating!"
Emmerdale, which airs at 7.30pm on weekdays will still make an appearance on Friday but fans should be aware it's at the earlier time slot of 7pm.
ITV have confirmed that scheduling will return to normal on Monday, October 2 with the soap favourites back into their usual spots.
This week's scheduling isn't the first time that the Rugby World Cup has caused drama for beloved soap fans. Earlier in the month a France versus New Zealand game also meant that the soap powerhouse duo had to fit around the sport.
It's commonplace for the sporting tournament to cause movements in the schedule but fans are left constantly frustrated because YV line-ups are only released a week in advance, meaning often, the changes are missed.
The Rugby World Cup final will air on Saturday, October 28.
This week also saw a remarkable few days for soap stars at the Inside Soap Awards 2023 ceremony in London.
Eastenders, who remain unaffected by scheduling issues on BBC, was the notable star of the show with Lola Pearce actress Danielle Harold taking home best actress and on-screen husband Jay Brown, played by Jamie Borthwick grabbing best actor.
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