British broadcaster ITV has shut down production on multiple series due to the coronavirus, including the long-running Coronation Street soap opera.
“ITV has sadly taken the decision to suspend production of the soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale with effect from Monday 23 March,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
“We’ve been doing our best to carry on filming, whilst adhering to the Government’s latest health guidelines, to ensure we’ve episodes of both soaps airing on ITV until at least the early summer. ‘However, the health and well-being of the production teams, actors, crew and their families is of paramount importance to us and we now feel that the time has come to stop filming. We’d like to thank our viewers for their support and hope they continue to enjoy both soaps in the coming months.”
“We’ve been doing our best to carry on filming, whilst adhering to the Government’s latest health guidelines, to ensure we’ve episodes of both soaps airing on ITV until at least the early summer. However, the health and well-being of the production teams, actors, crew and their families is of paramount importance to us and we now feel that the time has come to stop filming. We’d like to thank our viewers for their support and hope they continue to enjoy both soaps in the coming months.”
In addition to its soaps, ITV has shut down production on series such as Loose Women and Lorraine.
These moves aren’t limited to just ITV, however, as the BBC has also shut down production on its soap, EastEnders.
No word as of yet to when any of these series will head back into production.
