Why is Coronation Street not on TV tonight? ITV absence explained

• Coronation Street fans are being warned of a major shake-up to the schedule.
• The FA Cup third round has caused a change in TV plans.
• Soap watchers may be in for a nasty surprise tonight.

If you are settling down and planning to tune into watch Coronation Street tonight - you could be in for a nasty surprise. ITV have been forced to shake-up the TV schedule because of the FA Cup.

Soap fans are no strangers to being messed around due to the football. Corrie is just the latest victim - with the usual Friday episode not airing as planned in a few hours.

Fortunately, it is just one weekend of sport and not a full tournament like the Euros in the summer. But here’s how the TV schedule has been disrupted:

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Why is Coronation Street not on tonight?

ITV will not be airing Corrie in its usual slot tonight (Friday January 10). Instead the FA Cup third round match between Aston Villa and West Ham United will be broadcast on ITV1.

The football coverage starts at 7,30pm, so Emmerdale is not impacted and will air as usual. So it is not a total disaster for soap watchers.

When will Friday’s episode of Corrie air instead?

The usual Friday episode of Coronation Street, which you may have been expecting on January 10, actually aired 24 hours ago. It broadcast on Thursday (January 9) night instead, but you can catch up on ITVX - if you didn’t realise before reading this.

It was on at the later time of 9pm to 10pm yesterday. The synopsis for the episode reads: “Bobby visits Rob to persuade him to donate a kidney to Carla, Dev proposes to Bernie again, and David continues to distrust Shona. Elsewhere, Abi accuses Toyah of abducting Alfie, and Evelyn bids farewell to friends as she departs for university.”

Find out about the TV schedule for the FA Cup third round - and how it may disrupt the rest of your viewing habits here. It comes as a price rise for the licence fee has been confirmed.