Emmerdale taken off air tonight as ITV soap faces huge schedule shake-up

Emmerdale has been taken off air tonight (Thursday 9 October) as the ITV soap has been hit with a huge schedule shake-up

Emmerdale enthusiasts will be left disheartened tonight (Thursday 9 October) as the popular ITV soap opera faces a significant schedule reshuffle.

The drama, which usually graces our screens on weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV, with an hour-long special on Thursdays, has been temporarily shelved to make way for the Live International Football match between England and Wales.

This marks their first face-off since England’s triumphant 3-0 victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The match, set to unfold at Wembley Stadium, begins broadcasting at 7pm with kick-off at 7:45pm, and will air until 10.05pm, followed by the ITV News at Ten until 10.35pm.

However, Emmerdale devotees can anticipate its return on Friday night, as the ITV soap will resume with a 30-minute episode at its usual time of 7:30pm. Yet, the scheduling shake-up doesn’t conclude there, as further changes are expected on Tuesday, October 14.

Emmerdale will once again be displaced from the ITV schedule to accommodate the FIFA World Cup Group K qualifier match between Latvia and England. This match, taking place at the Daugava Stadium in Riga, will kick off at 7.45pm, with live coverage running from 7pm to 10.05pm.

Emmerdale will then resume its regular broadcasting for the remainder of the week. Disgruntled viewers have taken to Twitter, now X, to express their disappointment over the football disrupting their beloved soap instalment, reports the Daily Star.

One person said: “Yep-Us twitter fans are not impressed with the schedulers (re the football)! #Emmerdale”, a different account put: “No emmerdale on the 9th and 14th october then i presume? ? ? the football is so annoying #robron #emmerdale” while another added: “More Scheduling shanagans (thanks to football on Thursday 9th and Tuesday 14th October.) #Emmerdale.”

This comes during a dramatic period for the popular ITV soap, with John Sugden’s wrongdoings finally coming to light as the offender has now fled the country.

Meanwhile, Celia Daniels’ true identity has been unveiled, revealing her as the criminal mastermind behind the village’s recent drug trafficking scheme.

Additionally in the village, Charity Dingle, who has consented to act as a surrogate for granddaughter Sarah Sugden, is concealing a massive secret – the baby isn’t Sarah’s or Charity’s spouse Mack Boyd’s, but is actually her former partner Ross Barton’s child from a passionate encounter.

Charity has taken extraordinary measures to conceal this truth, even recruiting her son Ryan Stocks to falsify the paternity test results to indicate Ross isn’t the father, despite him being the biological parent.

Emmerdale continues on weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV and ITVX.