ITV1 Overhauls Schedule

ITV1 has announced a major schedule overhaul, starting from 12th January, which includes Coronation Street now having two episodes on a Friday evening.

As a result, the channel’s most popular show will no longer air on a Sunday. Fellow soap Emmerdale will also be dropped from Sundays and will instead run for 60 minutes on a Tuesday, with the aim to make the weekend and weekday schedules appear more distinct from one another.

As mentioned yesterday (see ITV1 To Have Positive 2008), News at Ten will return from 14 January, airing from Monday to Thursday and once again presented by Sir Trevor MacDonald.

Friday nights will see the new episodes of Coronation Street, followed by a new double-bill of comedy Moving Wallpaper and soap Echo Beach. The two complementary programmes, one being a comedy behind the scenes look at the soap being made, will star Jason Donovan and Martine McCutcheon.

Comedy and drama will make up the core of ITV1’s Saturday night entertainment, with the return of Primeval and new Paul Merton comedy Thank God Your Here.

Dancing on Ice also returns, and will run for two hours from 6pm on its first couple of outings, but then become 90-minute editions. The popular show however is being moved to Sunday evenings and will team up with family dramas Wild at Heart and Kingdom.

ITV director of television, Simon Shaps said: “One of the principal ideas behind these changes is to make the weekends on ITV1 feel special. We have always been the home of Saturday night entertainment and we want to broaden that out to make the whole weekend on ITV1 something to look forward to.

“This has meant a wholesale spring clean for Friday nights with new comedy, drama and feature films to get the weekend started, and a much fresher look to Sunday evenings with entertainment shaking up the historically drama-led schedule.

“The restructuring of the peak time schedule and the return of News at Ten means that we’ve got a great opportunity to recapture some lost ground at 9pm and we’ve responded to viewer feedback on Coronation Street and Emmerdale so that fans can catch up with their favourite soaps over fewer nights.

“The new shape allows greater freedom and flexibility to create new hits within the schedule. In all, these changes make for a more streamlined, user friendly schedule that plays to ITV1’s strengths as an entertainment powerhouse and the home of original drama.”

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