Emmerdale will not air at 8pm tonight, here’s why and when it’s back
This week’s Emmerdale schedule is being shaken up again and this time it’s not even due to football – so is it on tonight?
Football, rugby and other special programmes have caused plenty of chaos for the ITV soap schedule lately, with Emmerdale regularly being moved around. And it doesn’t look like the disruption is over just yet. We’ve got all the latest schedule changes right here!
Is Emmerdale on tonight? Is it on ITVX?
Emmerdale fans will be disappointed tonight as the soap won’t air. It isn’t on at 8pm and Coronation Street, which normally follows, will also be missing from the schedule.
And because there are no episodes on TV tonight, they won’t be available to stream on ITVX or YouTube either. Episodes usually drop from 7am for those who can’t wait until the evening to see what’s coming up.
The reason for tonight’s disruption is the National Television Awards, which will air at 8pm on ITV. Emmerdale is nominated in the Best Serial Drama category, while Jeff Hordley, aka Cain Dingle, is up for Best Serial Drama Performance. Fingers crossed!
With all the disruption we’ve seen over the summer, some fans think bringing the power hour earlier could make more sense. That way, the soaps might still be able to air as normal when sporting events take over the schedule.
What happens in Emmerdale tomorrow?
Devastated Charity finds herself charged with murder. She is locked up and it’s clear bitter Sarah has orchestrated this. Charity thinks she may have run out of options and is facing a future behind bars. Can she find a way out of this?
Elsewhere, Robert sticks up for Joe and calls a truce as he grieves. But he then tells Aaron it’s all an act and he’s planning to use Joe’s vulnerability to pounce and get the farm. He also wants the Hide off Laurel and Gabby. Scheming Robert is well and truly back!
And, Nicola is struggling the mounting funeral costs. Realising she has to do something to keep them afloat, she asks Caleb and Ruby to put the haulage shares into Elliot’s name.
They’re forced to tell her that Jimmy sold the business and they paid him in tax-free cash. Nicola realises the money is missing, so where is it?
Soap power hour is a hit
In October 2024, Emmerdale began streaming the daily episode of the soap from 7am. Despite some concerns that it meant the soap was in trouble, coupled with lots of cast exits, it has since been revealed that it was actually a great move by ITV, with stats showing viewing was way up.
The soap then announced a new schedule. The soap ‘power hour’ started in January 2026 and sees Emmerdale continue to air five nights a week. New episodes also drop on ITVX every morning at 7am as usual.
However, the soap moved to a new time slot of 8pm. The Thursday double bill was also cut to half an hour to make way for additional episodes of Coronation Street.
This was designed to create faster-paced, digestible episodes, with the 30-minute format already proving popular with viewers.
However, it also seems the changes haven’t stopped the disruption caused by sports.
