Classic Emmerdale and Coronation Street episodes set for ITV Hub

Natalie Ann Jamieson, Michael Wildman, Isabel Hodgins, Ash Palmisciano, Nicola Wheeler and the cast of Emmerdale attending the TRIC Awards 2020 held at the Grosvenor Hotel, London earlier this year.

Photo: PA — Natalie Ann Jamieson, Michael Wildman, Isabel Hodgins, Ash Palmisciano, Nicola Wheeler and the cast of Emmerdale attending the TRIC Awards 2020 held at the Grosvenor Hotel, London earlier this year. Photo: PA

ITV is unlocking classic episodes of its soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street after production of new instalments was halted due to coronavirus restrictions.

Vintage episodes of both popular soaps will be placed on the on-demand platform.

It comes as filming of both soaps has been stopped and transmission reduced to make the episodes which have already been recorded last longer.

Emmerdale will run out of episodes at the end of May, while Coronation Street will last until after June.

The episodes, airing every weekday on ITV Hub from Monday, will give "soap fans a trip down memory lane and a chance to relive some of soapland's most iconic characters," ITV said.

Emmerdale will go back to December 1995, ahead of villainous Chris Tate's (Peter Amory) wedding, and in the midst of Kim Tate's (Claire King) affair.

The broadcaster is already screening classic episodes on ITV3.

Coronation Street episodes from 1995, featuring Weatherfield characters Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear), Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough), Mavis Wilton (Thelma Barlow), Raquel Wolstenhulme (Sarah Lancashire) and Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs), will go on the platform.

It comes after ITV bosses said that Coronation Street and Emmerdale could return to screens with older cast members absent and actors six feet apart.

ITV Hub will also feature previous episodes of The Real Housewives Of Cheshire and Gemma Collins' fly on the wall show Diva Forever.