Will Emmerdale be sacrificed to save rival ITV soap Coronation Street? Fans fear so
Will budget cuts spell the end for the soap?
Emmerdale fans have taken to social media to express their fear that the soap will be axed to save Coronation Street.
Recent reports have claimed that ITV is struggling financially and are having to make several cuts.
Fans are concerned that there is only room for one soap and they fear that Emmerdale will be sacrificed.
ITV cash crisis
Reports from The Sun have claimed that ITV is struggling financially. Coronation Street actress Sally Ann Matthews, who plays Jenny Bradley, also made these claims during a live Instagram Q&A.
Recent weeks have also seen several high profile stars quit or be axed from Coronation Street, including Charlotte Jordan (Daisy), Sue Cleaver (Eileen), Sue Devaney (Debbie) and Colson Smith (Craig).
While over at Emmerdale, Daisy Campbell (Amelia) and Dean Andrews (Will) recently left the show, with Paula Lane (Ella), Lesley Dunlop (Brenda), Roxy Shahidi (Leyla) and Susan Cookson (Wendy) set to follow suit.
Fans fear Emmerdale will be axed
Emmerdale fans are worried that Coronation Street is seen as more important than Emmerdale, meaning Emmerdale is more at risk of the axe.
“If it came down to it, ITV would sacrifice Emmerdale to save Corrie,” one fan wrote online. While another added: “Emmerdale would go first as the sacrificial lamb.”
A third fan said: “As people have said they’ll scrap Emmerdale before Corrie goes. It feels that ITV itself is linked into Coronation Street in a way. If Corrie goes then I’m not sure what ITV looks like in the future.”
However, some fans feel it is more likely that the number of episodes will be cut before either of them are axed. “Coronation Street and Emmerdale would cut production back to just 2 days per week before they would axe one of them,” wrote a viewer on Facebook. While other viewers threatened to boycott Coronation Street if Emmerdale was axed.