ITV has been forced to pause filming on both Coronation Street and Emmerdale due to coronavirus outbreaks on set.

Production on the two soaps ground to a halt last Spring in the early days of the pandemic, but filming was able to resume within a couple of months following the introduction of strict new health and safety rules.

As a result of clever scheduling, Corrie and Emmerdale avoided going off air at any point - unlike rivals EastEnders and Hollyoaks, which were forced to take a break after episodes ran out.

Both shows have now had separate cases of coronavirus outbreaks on set, prompting the broadcaster to enforce filming breaks while scripts are rewritten and production schedules are rearranged.

An ITV spokeswoman said: "Coronation Street will pause filming from next Monday, 25 January for two weeks to undertake some rewriting of stories and scripts as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will also be taking the opportunity to review all health and safety requirements to ensure we continue to provide a safe working environment for the cast, crew and production team. This pause in filming won't affect our ability to deliver six episodes of Coronation Street each week.

"We paused filming on Emmerdale last week due to some members of the team testing positive for COVID-19.

"We've carried out proper track and trace measures on those cases and undertook intensive cleaning of the production building, whilst reinforcing the health and safety protocols we have in place. We're returning to filming from this Monday, 25 January."

The soaps are currently thought to be filming episodes around two months in advance of broadcast.