The One Show is set to extend episodes to fill airtime as EastEnders is slashed to 20-minute episodes.
After nearly three months away, the BBC soap will return to our screens on September 7 – but shows will be shorter.
The One Show will be extended
Episodes of the long-running BBC soap usually last 30 minutes, but will now fill just 20 minutes and air four times a week.
To fill its place, The One Show will be extended to finish at 7.35pm instead of 7.30pm. The One Show, hosted by welsh presenter Alex Jones, will be longer on the nights when EastEnders also airs.
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This will continue until the soap is back up and running with its usual 30-minute shows.
EastEnders isn’t the only soap to cut short it’s episode, as ITV‘s Coronation Street and Emmerdale have also reduced their episodes to 22 minutes. However, they have filled the extra time with advertising breaks.
The BBC’s head of continuing drama, Kate Oates said: “As things change, we’ll change our approach. But at the moment, this is what’s best for the show and best for us.”
BBC bosses have teased fans with a new date and revealed that everyone “can’t wait for ‘series two’ to begin”.
EastEnders filming resumed with social distancing measures
The series halted filming earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, they’re now back and filming once again under socially distanced measures.
The cast have been spotted filming socially distanced scenes and giant transparent plastic screens have been installed on the set.
Bosses of the BBC One Soap have also hired extras from Covid isolation bubbles, allowing them to adhere to social distancing rules.
Executive producer Jon Sen said: “To reflect the world outside, we use support artists from the same household.
“We have supporting artists who are in a house of students or a husband and wife, who can be seen walking together and can kiss in the street.
We’ve invited real-life partners of the actors onto the set to cheat those kinds of moments.
“For those really crucial moments where two characters kiss, we’ve invited real-life partners of the actors onto the set to cheat those kinds of moments.”
He added: “With Perspex screens, you can bring people really close together. That’s good because it gives an intimacy to the performance.
“We also use plate shots, where two actors look like they are sitting at the same table but they have been filmed in isolation. You put the shots together.”
What else is happening in EastEnders?
The new ‘series two’ of EastEnders is set to air some dark storylines. Actress Lorraine Stanley, who plays Karen Taylor, revealed new exciting storylines are coming up.
Speaking at an online press day ahead of the soap’s return next month, she said: “The Taylors are in for a really hard time.”
“Nothing is ever easy for them, so we have been filming some really gripping and dramatic stuff. That’s all I can say. Watch this space, it’s very dramatic.”
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