TV fans all say the same thing as the soaps are taken off air

It’s that time of the year again where our favourite soap operas are shunted aside for coverage of the footy or Wimbledon.

As a result of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 coverage on ITV, Emmerdale won’t return until Tuesday, July 8.

Just as we get back into the swing of things, it’s pulled again the following day.

It’s even worse news if you’re a Coronation Street fan, as our next trip to the cobbles isn’t scheduled until Thursday, July 10, at the later time of 9pm.

Down South it’s the same issue, with EastEnders not hitting our screens again until Wednesday, July 9.

This week, the BBC soap doubled up episodes on BBC Two, meaning there’s a whole eight days before we can get our next slice of Walford drama.

Well, it turns out that Metro readers are not impressed.

In fact, at the time of writing, a whopping 7.4k of you shared your opinion on our Facebook page last night, when we asked: ‘Should soaps be moved for sport?’

802 soap fans even dealt an angry reaction. Brutal.

Taking to the comments section, Russ Southgate fumed: ‘I hate the summer. Tedious football, Olympics drivel, Wimbledon ping pong and all the other boring sport. Much rather have Emmerdale any day!’

‘Put all sport on a channel of its own,’ ordered Suzanne Dawson.

Nadine Rivers reckoned things were starting to get a little samey. ‘Why is the same game of tennis on bbc1 and bbc2?’ they questioned.

A truly mortified Ann Evans said: ‘NOOOO leave our soaps alone !!!’

Nigel Simmonds fancied himself as a channel controller, suggesting a nifty solution to the problem: ‘Emmerdale & Corrie could easily be put on ITV2/3 or 4 instead.. and Eastenders could be on BBC3.’

Carole Harris didn’t think that our favourite genre should be the one to move: ‘They should have a Sports channel then we can watch our soaps.’

It goes without saying that both the soaps and sports coverage are culturally significant to the UK. But the fans remain divided.

It seems us Brits aren’t the only ones to be facing an issue with the two, as investment in Australian television production and sports was addressed by former Neighbours star Elaine Smith when she spoke to us this week.

‘We’re going through a difficult time at the moment,’ she said.

‘I think there’s a huge amount the Australian government could be doing for the arts because it’s not well supported in this country.

‘Sport is, and it’s not that it’s sport against the arts, but there needs to be a balance. Both of those things are valuable to society and culture.’

She added: ‘There’s so much more that can be done and it’s why I became quite passionate about teaching drama.

‘We have to invest in the kids and get them engaged in the same way we do with sports. Whether that be painting, music, dance, design or theatre.

‘Engage that interest and you’ll develop a very rich culture.’

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

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