BBC’s EastEnders to see TV schedule change this week

Soaps are regularly changing their schedules due to other programmes being shown in their usual time slots, including football matches.

While fans of the soap will still get to watch an episode of EastEnders on Easter Monday (April 6), it will be at a later time.

Here’s what we know about the changes and when you can watch the soap this week.

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EastEnders to see TV schedule change this week

The Easter schedule will see Celebrity Escape to the Country fill EastEnders’ usual slot as it starts at 7.45pm, with EastEnders usually beginning at 7.30pm on BBC One on Mondays.

It’s not all bad news though, as you can still get your soap fix on Monday as EastEnders will start an hour later than usual – at 8.30pm on the same channel.

Despite this schedule change, soap fans will be able to watch EastEnders on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at its usual time this week.

ITV makes schedule changes to Coronation Street and Emmerdale

Fans of Corrie and Emmerdale can also expect some schedule changes this year because, back in 2025, ITV announced changes to its soap schedule.

From January 2026, the broadcaster introduced a “soaps power hour” on weekdays with 30-minute Emmerdale episodes at 8pm and 30-minute Coronation Street episodes at 8.30pm.

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Coronation Street previously aired for three hour-long episodes a week, while Emmerdale aired four 30-minute episodes and one hour-long instalment.

In May 2025, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said the company was making “good progress” on a cost-cutting drive, and that she expected to make £30 million of non-content savings during 2025.

ITV also introduced changes to its popular daytime TV shows such as Good Morning Britain (GMB) and Lorraine.

From January this year, GMB has been extended by half an hour, while Lorraine Kelly’s morning talk show has been reduced to 30 minutes for 30 weeks of the year.

Are you happy about the EastEnders schedule change this week? Let us know in the comments.