An ex-ITV boss has warned that soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street could face major changes amid budget cuts.
Peter Fincham was the former Director of Television at ITV before Kevin Lygo took over.
Fincham has suggested that, due to budget concerns at ITV, Emmerdale could move filming away from Yorkshire and merge production with Coronation Street in Manchester.
The ex-ITV boss has predicted that following the recent announcement of daytime changes at the broadcaster, it's likely executives are looking at similar measures for the two soaps.
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Emmerdale and Coronation Street face major changes
Discussing the soaps on The TV Podcast, Fincham said: "You’ve got Coronation Street being made in Manchester, Emmerdale in Leeds.
“Could you imagine, rather like the daytime consolidation, that ITV will decide to have them both made in the same place under one umbrella? Big savings.
“You still keep Emmerdale set in Yorkshire, but it could be made in Manchester and Salford, which is a bigger hub for ITV.
“I don’t think that’s inconceivable — it might be being planned as we speak."
Emmerdale is currently made in north Leeds, while Coronation Street is mostly filmed in MediaCity in Salford.
As the ex-ITV boss adds: "The new hub for Coronation Street in Salford, it cost many, many millions of pounds and it was better facilities for all the people who worked on it in the old place in the middle of Manchester."
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An ITV spokesperson said: "ITV has no plans to merge the productions of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
"Both are uniquely set in Manchester and Leeds and that production model will continue for the long term.
"It's pure speculation to say otherwise."
The change follows news that ITV is making major changes to its daytime scheduling in 2026.
The overhaul will see Good Morning Britain (GMB) extended by half an hour from January 2026, while Lorraine Kelly’s morning talk show will be reduced to 30 minutes for 30 weeks of the year.
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