ITV schedule shake-up as Emmerdale extended for very special reason
Emmerdale will be airing an extended episode on Monday night ahead of a special standalone episode later this week recounting the experience of missing teen April Windsor
There’s been changes to the usual Emmerdale schedule this week as the show prepares for a special episode.
The ITV soap typically airs as 30 minute episodes each weekday, except Thursday evenings when fans are treated to an hour-long instalment. That won’t be the case this week though as a different schedule has been announced.
The shake-up comes following the news that a special standalone episode will air on Tuesday night. Ahead of it, Monday’s episode will be longer than usual, with it taking up an hour-long slot in the broadcaster’s schedule from 7pm to 8pm. As a result, the ITV Evening News has been reduced to just 30 minutes, with it airing from 6.30pm to 7pm.
Tuesday and Wednesday’s instalments of Emmerdale will both be 30 minute episodes as usual, just like on Friday. Thursday’s episode won’t be an hour long as usual though, following the extended edition earlier in the week, with it instead 30 minutes in length.
Following the extended episode on Monday, the special standalone episode on Tuesday night will recount the story of April Windsor (played by Amelia Flanagan) and her life on the streets. It’s been teased that the flashback episode will depict her journey from having nowhere to stay to “terrifying and heartbreaking situations” she found herself in whilst away from home.
There’s been some changes to Emmerdale’s usual schedule this week ahead of a special episode on April Windsor (played by Amelia Flanagan) airing ( Image: ITV)
Emmerdale viewers know that April went missing from the village on Christmas Day, leaving her father Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and stepmother Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry) heartbroken. They have been searching for April over the past few weeks and are set to receive the news that she has finally been found on Monday night’s episode.
Commenting on the special, producer Laura Shaw said: “April’s flashback episode is a heartbreaking depiction of life on the street as a teenage girl. Continuing to take guidance from the fabulous team at Missing People, it was incredibly important that we didn’t shy away from the agonising journey that April would go through and their help was invaluable in making sure the episode has the authenticity required.”
Laura went on to praise cast member Amelia – who joined the show in 2014 – over her “outstanding performance”. The producer said: “[Amelia’s] outstanding performance makes this arguably, one of Emmerdale’s stand out episodes of this year and promises to start a new journey for the character of April, forever changed by her time living on the city streets.”
Emmerdale continues on Monday night from 7pm on on ITV and STV. Episodes are available for streaming on ITVX and STVPlayer.
