EastEnders will fall off air next month when the BBC runs out of new episodes, it has been confirmed.

The soap was cut from four episodes a week down to two when the coronavirus pandemic brought filming to a halt in March but the reserve of episodes will run out early next month.

"There will be a break for the soap next month," a source told The Sun. "Everyone wants to get back to work of course but the health and safety of cast and crew is the most important thing. It will only happen when it can be done safely."

The BBC has confirmed on Twitter that filming will not resume until the end of June, meaning that EastEnders will be absent for at least a month while new material is shot.

According to Broadcast, the crew will work hard to shorten the show's usual six to eight-week lead time but says that new episodes "are unlikely to be delivered until mid-August at the earliest".

Meanwhile, ITV soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale are due to begin filming within weeks, leaving open the slight possibility that Corrie could make it through the coronavirus crisis without having to go off air.