EastEnders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street confirm soaps WON’T shut down as UK enters third lockdown

THE new national lockdown will not affect the country’s beloved soaps, which will continue filming.

The Celeb Report can reveal EastEnders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street will crack on with filming during the lockdown, meaning fans won’t miss out on any juicy action.

A spokeswoman for ITV said “filming continues on Coronation Street and Emmerdale as health and safety measures are in place in accordance with the Government guidelines”.

While the BBC’s spokeswoman told The Celeb Report, “EastEnders will continue filming during lockdown.

“Production will continue to strictly adhere to the social distancing and safety measures in place,” she added.

According to the latest lockdown rules, “some businesses and places will also be permitted to be open for a small number of exempt activities”.

One of the exemptions includes “for the purposes of film and TV filming”.

The major soaps stopped production – many for the first time in their history – during the first national lockdown in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Production on the long-running soaps resumed in June, with strict safety protocols in place, including social distancing and assigning “fixed cohorts” of staff who work together in their units.

The shows also put an end to romantic moments and physical fights, with the characters prevented from getting too near to one another in any given scene.

Everyone involved also has the temperature regularly checked and they are required to sanitise their hands often.

During the original lockdown, EastEnders slashed the number of weekly episodes in an effort to keep the show on air for as long as possible. 

But the final pre-lockdown episode aired on June 16, forcing the soap to go off air for the first time in its 35-year history. 

It came back four times a week and aired only 20 minute episodes as a way to keep the show on air.

EastEnders’ executive producer Jon Sen said at the time: “Resuming production is incredibly exciting and challenging in equal measure.

“Since we postponed filming, we’ve been working non-stop trialling techniques, filming methods and new ways of working so that we can return to screens four times a week – as EastEnders should be.

“Filming will inevitably be a more complex process now, so creating 20 minute episodes will enable us to ensure that when we return, EastEnders will still be the show the audience know and love.”