Coronation Street and Emmerdale stars ‘outraged’ as they face big slashes to pay

Even more changes lie ahead (Picture: ITV)

It’s being reported that Coronation Street and Emmerdale are planning on reducing screentime for some of its stars.

It has left broadcasting channel ITV facing a negative reaction as this also means the pay for the stars is going to be reduced.

It’s said that actors from both soaps are understandably not happy with the development, with a report claiming that some cast members will lose about a sixth of their income.

The new arrangement will see a number of stars film fewer scenes across the year. In a standard soap contract, an actor is guaranteed a minimum amount of appearances across the 12 months.

Up Next

The new arrangement will see stars from both soaps film fewer scenes across the year (Picture: ITV)

According to the report from The Sun, trade union group Equity is getting involved. It’s said that actors from Corrie and Emmerdale were told about the changes last week via email.

A source added to the publication that there was no ‘consultation’ regarding the changes, which aren’t coming into effect until August.

Metro has contacted Coronation Street and Emmerdale for a comment.

In recent years, both soaps have said goodbye to a number of cast members.

In Emmerdale, this has included Susan Cookson (Wendy Posner), Roxy Shahidi (Leyla Harding), Paula Lane (Ella Forster) and Natalie Ann Jameson (Amy Wyatt).

Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley), Colson Smith (Craig Tinker), Paddy Bever (Max Turner) and Shelley King (Yasmeen Nazir) are among the stars who have left Corrie.

At the start of this year, ITV launched a new soap ‘power hour’, which now sees Emmerdale air for thirty minutes at 8pm, and then Corrie for half an hour at 8:30pm.

Following audience research, bosses concluded that 30 minute episodes attracted higher audience figures throughout 2024.

Don't miss a Soaps scoop! Add us as a Preferred Source

As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soaps news, spoilers, videos, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

Now you can ensure you never miss a story from the Soaps team

ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment Kevin Lygo previously said: ‘The new commissioning pattern is viewer-led. We already give more choice than ever to viewers on how they watch us through ITVX and we want to present their favourite soap to them, in the most digestible way.

ITV aired Corriedale at the start of this year to coincide with the launch of the new soap power hour (Picture: ITV)

‘In a world where there is so much competition for viewers’ time and attention, and viewing habits continue to change, we believe this is the right amount of episodes that fans can fit into their viewing schedule, to keep up to date with the shows.

‘Research insights also show us that soap viewers are increasingly looking to the soaps for their pacey storytelling. Streaming-friendly, 30 minute episodes better provide the opportunity to meet viewer expectations for storyline pace, pay-off and resolution.

‘Whilst viewing is growing on ITVX, we know a significant proportion of our soaps’ audience still watch us via the schedule. This new pattern is in the DNA of the soap genre – nobody else does 30 minute drama this successfully.’

To coincide with the new schedule, ITV aired a massive crossover event called Corriedale. It saw lives from Weatherfield and the Yorkshire Dales put in serious danger as they were involved in a multi-vehicle collision.

Iain MacLeod has spoken about his future plans for both soaps (Picture: ITV)

Elsewhere, the genre is continuing to make changes in order to stay relevant to the current TV climate.

Iain MacLeod, ITV’s Executive Producer for Continuing Drama, recently revealed that a production overhaul will eventually improve the visual quality fans see whenever they flick Emmerdale or Coronation Street on. The producer admitted that the changes have been somewhat inspired by the incredible way Corriedale was shot.

‘In terms of the look and feel of the shows, we’re in the midst of a big piece of work around evolving what they both look like’, he said in a chat with the This Is Media City podcast.

‘I want there to be a somewhat consistent visual feel between the soaps, so you know when you turn on Emmerdale or turn on Corrie, that it’s an ITV soap – without homogenising it too much.’

Comments Add as preferred source

from Metro https://ift.tt/KB0Ahr1