What time is Emmerdale on tonight? Fans warned of new airtime as ITV soap moved in Wednesday schedule

The ITV soap has been shifted in Wednesday night’s (December 17) schedule, with viewers being warned that they will not be able to tune in live at Emmerdale’s normal airtime of 7.30pm.

Instead, the latest episode will be broadcast a little earlier because ITV are carrying coverage of the EFL Carabao Cup clash between Newcastle and Fulham from 7.30pm on the channel. Coverage of the match, coming live from St James’ Park, will last until around 10.40pm and will be presented by Mark Pougatch.

Soap fans will still get their half-hour fix of Emmerdale, but this will be broadcast at 7pm instead of in the soap’s usual 7.30pm slot.

For those who will miss out on watching the new episode during the broadcast, you can watch an early release of the new episode right now on ITVX, STV Player and YouTube. You will also be able to catch-up on the episode on the streaming services after the broadcast.

It comes as fans gear up for the highly-anticipated Corriedale crossover, which hits screens in early January. Stars from both soaps attended a premiere of the hour-long episode last night (December 16), with fans eagerly awaiting the history-making moment that the two soaps cross over for the very first time.

Corriedale will be airing at 8pm on Monday, January 5 and will help to launch ITV’s new ‘soap power hour’. The new soap slot will see half-hour episodes of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale air every weeknight from 8pm on the channel.

Meanwhile, the Corriedale storyline will see characters from both soaps come into contact with each other as a devastating country-road crash has dire consequences for both worlds. A new trailer for the episode shows characters such as Emmerdale’s Charity Dingle consoling Corrie’s Shona Platt, while Weatherfield’s resident paramedic Asha Alahan teams up with Cain Dingle to help rescue those trapped in the crash.

While wider plot details have remained under-wraps, viewers can expect some shocking deaths and consequences for residents of both soap towns. Coronation Street producer Kate Brooks previously teased details of the episode in October, saying: “I can't help but imagine what my mum is going to be like watching this episode. She'll be so beside herself because as a soap fan, the idea of sitting down with your two favourite shows with all your favourite characters in this massive, unmissable piece of telly, it's amazing.

"Everyone's worked so hard on this behind the scenes. The cast have been amazing, but behind the scenes, it's been quite a feat logistically to get everything in the right place. It's a testament to how hard and how passionate all people are. Everyone's put their hearts and souls into it."