ITV has confirmed that Emmerdale will go down from six to three episodes a week from next Monday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The long-running soap had been due to reduce to five episodes a week but that decision has now been revised by ITV after filming was suspended yesterday.

In a statement on Twitter, the network said: "Following yesterday's announcement that filming of @itvcorrie & Emmerdale will be suspended, @ITV has taken the decision to reduce Emmerdale's transmission pattern to 3 episodes per week from 30 March - airing on Mon, Wed & Fri with #Corrie at 7.30pm on the same nights #Emmerdale"

The measures should ensure that both soaps remain on air until July in the event that filming cannot resume in the next few months.

All of the UK's soaps have now shut down to the coronavirus outbreak, which has so far claimed more than 14,700 lives worldwide.