ITV shuffles Emmerdale for live football, to resume after matches

ITV pulled Emmerdale from its scheduled evening broadcast on Thursday October 9 and again on Tuesday October 14 so the network could show live international football, leaving fans to wait an extra day for new episodes. The soap, which normally airs at 7.30pm each weeknight with an extended hour on Thursdays, was replaced by coverage of England's friendly against Wales from Wembley on October 9 and England's World Cup qualifier at Latvia's Daugava Stadium on October 14, both with live coverage beginning at 7pm ahead of 7.45pm kickoffs.

The broadcaster said Emmerdale will return to its usual 7.30pm slot on Friday October 10 after the first interruption and on Wednesday October 15 after the second. Early-release episodes on ITVX, STV Player and the show's YouTube channel were also withheld on the evenings the programmes were replaced but are scheduled to be available from 7am on the days the series resumes.

The October 9 match was shown live from Wembley. The October 14 broadcast originates from Riga and will be hosted by Mark Pougatch, with former players Roy Keane and Ian Wright among the match analysts. Both broadcasts are expected to run into the later evening, which has...