What time is Emmerdale on tonight? Soap has returned to regular scheduling

Emmerdale
(Image credit: ITV)

Here is when your favourite soap is on and at what times...

Emmerdale has returned to six episodes a week after months of airing a reduced schedule.

As TV fans around the world already know, production came grinding to a halt in March when the world went into lockdown.

To avoid Emmerdale coming off air completely, ITV reduced the number of episodes aired each week.

Harriet Finch and Dawn in Emmerdale

Emmerdale has been packed full of drama and even aired a socially distanced murder recently (Picture: ITV) (Image credit: ITV)

As a result, fans have been watching skeleton scheduling since before the summer.

More: Holby City, Casualty and Doctors still not scheduled for BBC return 

Thankfully TV studios have managed to reopen, this time with strict social distancing rules in place.

The soap then aired a week of special 'lockdown episodes' which were filmed with just two cast members.

What time is Emmerdale on tonight?

Emmerdale has been keeping to social distancing rules while filming (Picture: ITV) (Image credit: ITV)

The lockdown episodes gave fans an insight into what happened to their favourite characters while the world stayed indoors.

But with regular filming back up and running, there is good news for soap fans as we can now look forward to more episodes on each week.

When is Emmerdale returning to six episodes? 

From Monday 14th September Emmerdale will be returning to the regular six episodes a week.

When is Emmerdale on?

The soap will air Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with an extra episode on a Thursday.

What time is Emmerdale on?

Emmerdale will air at 7pm every weekday evening, with an extra episode airing at 8pm on a Thursday.

The times could change at the last minute as football fixtures are released... but you can keep an eye on any changes by using our handy TV Guide.

What time is Emmerdale on tonight?

The Emmerdale production team have been using cleaver camera angles to make cast look closer together (Picture: ITV) (Image credit: ITV)

Executive producer, Jane Hudson spoke to the press recently about the pressures of getting soaps back on track...

"I think one of the biggest challenges is just making sure everyone knows it’s a safe place to come and we’re doing absolutely everything to keep social distancing and look out for everybody.

"Once we’d got over that it was then just letting everyone know the storylines are still strong, we might be shooting them in a different way, we might not be able to see people kissing and punching each other, but we’re relying on really good stories, scripts and great performances."

Soaps working together

Jane also revealed soaps have been working together to bring our favourite TV shows back as safely as possible...

"From the very beginning we’ve all been talking. Our production manager has been speaking to other production managers. We work hand in hand with Coronation Street anyway, but we’ve also been chatting to EastEnders, Hollyoaks, Neighbours and Shortland Street."

Dawn and Billy in Emmerdale

Emmerdale might be socially distanced but that doesn't mean it's any less dramatic (Picture: ITV) (Image credit: ITV)

"We’re all nervous about another lockdown coming our way. So now felt like the right time to come back to six episodes, it felt like we’d given ourselves enough time to get used to shooting, to get up to speed.

"We didn’t want anyone to be rushing, to feel like they’d let us down if they didn’t complete their schedule, so it was an ease back to shooting and now we feel confident we can meet the demands of the six episode schedule.

"For the soaps to be back on screen and back to full volume is an incredible achievement.

"It’s quite daunting because we all knew that the rest of the industry was watching us to see if the quality is still the same, so I’m just really proud of us all."

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays - see our TV Guide for full listings.

Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 


After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off


She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 


As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.