With the soaps on the brink of running out of episodes, it's panic stations as bosses desperately try to keep them on air.
All the soaps reduced their episode output in a bid to stay on screen for as long as possible, but the rationing can only go on until June.
With lockdown rules being eased, soap bosses are rushing to get back filming on set - with strict rules, special cast treatment and social distancing proving problematic.
Neighbours bosses have paved the way for TV shows around the world to plan a comeback, being the first show to put down a blueprint to making studios safe to work in.
While Emmerdale are in the process of filming six brand new episodes against the backdrop of the real-life coronavirus pandemic.
There will be no kissing, no fights, no pub scenes in any of the soaps for the foreseeable future - and the strange new episodes we see on screen won't reflect the lockdown drama behind the cameras.
EMMERDALE
Eight weeks after production of Emmerdale was stopped, the Yorkshire-based soap resumed filming six brand new episodes, which viewers will get to enjoy in June.
Measures to ensure the safety for everyone on set will also include crew using their own sanitised equipment, office staff working from home and a ban on location filming.
The crew also attended a meeting with the company’s medical adviser and participated in a health and safety induction which saw the new working environment procedures explained in detail.
Emmerdale boss Jane Hudson announced in a pre-filmed clip on set: "We're back on set today, back with Emmerdale shooting our very special lockdown epsiodes.
"We're currently on set with Cain and Aaron, working on our scenes, social distancing on and off set, which isn't easy but we're getting used to it and I think everybody feels great to be back and we can't wait to make some new episodes for you."
This Morning soap expert Sharon Marshall, who is also a writer on Emmerdale, revealed it was "buzzing" on set as everyone was "excited to be back".
Offering more of an insight as to what viewers could expect from the episodes, she explained: "They're called the lockdown episodes and they are what we refer to as two-hander episodes, paired down.
"So it's two cast members, very paired down."
One episode will see how Cain Dingle and his nephew Aaron Dingle handle the lockdown situation, while other villagers involved include Marlon Dingle, Al Chapman, Nicola King and Paddy Kirk.
Judging by the filming snaps, which show how the crew are maintaining distancing, some characters will look a little different to the last time they were on screen.
ITV bosses were forced into a U-turn after a staff revolt over Emmerdale stars being given preferential treatment in testing on their return to work.
Journalists, office and tech staff who share the Leeds studio were furious to learn soap crew and actors would get temperature checks, but they would not.
One worker said: “People were very p***ed off. You can tell who the golden folk are. We just have to doff our caps as the stars come in.
“It’s daft. They all still have to use the same door handles as us to get in the building – but if we’ve got it, tough.”
Insiders say that after staff raised “heated” objections, John Whiston, head of ITV in the North, was forced to offer temperature testing for all.
ITV said: “All colleagues at ITV Yorkshire can have their temperatures checked as they enter the building.”
Emmerdale resumed filming before Coronation Street because the set offers the 'perfect location' for social distancing, sources have said.
An insider at the channel explained: "Emmerdale is being used as the benchmark for safety guidelines as they have a lot of space and it’s the perfect location to put the social distancing measures into practice.
"Everyone will be adhering to social distancing and scenes will be filmed with smaller groups.
"The teams will be able to film in certain ways which will minimise distancing. The scripting teams are working on creating storylines with fewer characters," the source told The Sun.
CORONATION STREET
While Emmerdale is back up and running, fellow ITV soap Corrie is still being kept on hold.
The production halt has left the show's upcoming 60th anniversary in jeopardy as big plans may have to be scaled back.
Cobbles favourite Andy Whyment has confirmed the Rovers Return may not reopen once filming resumes next month.
The Kirk Sutherland actor old OK! magazine : "I think we are hoping to get back mid June, that's what we're working towards.
"We have enough episodes in the can until early July, so hopefully we won't have to go off air."
The soap will be reflecting the coronavirus pandemic in future storylines, with the Rovers set to be shut like pubs across the country.
On whether coronavirus will be referenced, Andy added: "I think it will. They've been rewriting all the scripts and it's been such a massive part of everyone's lives, so the show will probably reflect that.
"We won't be able to do big group scenes, like where everyone is in the Rovers, and if pubs haven't reopened by then, we won't be able to do any scenes in the Rovers at all."
Legendary Bill Roache has spoken about the possibility of older cast members being temporarily written out of the soap.
It has previously been suggested by ITV that more vulnerable cast members, including those who are elderly, may not be able to return to work as soon as production resumes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in order to ensure their safety.
Roache, who plays the soap's only remaining original character Ken Barlow, told BBC Radio Derby that the set will be "very, very different" when the cast are able to return.
Admitting he is not expecting to be called back to work immediately, Bill said: "They've said it's all going to be very, very different. Scenes will be about the lockdown so people will be isolating.
"Scenes will be shot more simply with less people. Obviously cameras and booms will be placed where there's a required distance, so it's all going to be very, very different when we do get back.
"I think we the senior members of the cast won't be called back for some time, sadly. I'd like to get back. So we'll just have to see how it goes. But they're anticipating starting mid-June."
ITV head of studios Kevin Lygo said at the ED TV festival that producers of both Corrie and Emmerdale will be taking numerous safety precautions when production resumes.
He made a point of saying that they are being particularly careful in the cases of actors who are potentially more vulnerable.
"Some people who are in a dangerous zone, if by age or health reasons, they won't be there, I'm sure, for a time," he said.
"I don't want Ken Barlow to get sick on my watch. We will be very careful and mindful about what's happening."
EASTENDERS
Filming on EastEnders is set to start up again in June after weeks of production shutdown.
The BBC1 soap set has been handed over to Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologues, filmed by a skeleton crew, since mid-March, when prime minister Boris Johnson announced lockdown had begun.
But TV bosses now believe the cast can return to filming next month - albeit with some major changes to comply with government guidelines around social distancing.
Writing in the Telegraph, BBC director of content Charlotte Moore said: "We're also exploring ways to re-start filming on more dramas and other major BBC shows as soon as possible."
She said the broadcaster wants to "help fire up the engines of British TV production - safely and sensibly".
It means the set will look very different, however, with makeup artists and hairdressers having to abide by social distancing rules.
"We've been looking very carefully at how we can safely put some of our shows back into production, and I'm pleased to announce that we plan to begin filming again on both EastEnders and Top Gear by the end of next month," she went on.
"Cast members will do their own hair and makeup. Social distancing measures will be in place."
However, an EastEnders spokeswoman told Mirror Online that hairdressers and makeup artists will very much be involved still.
"They will be there on set but socially distancing to consult with the cast," she told us.
"They will be working within the government's guidelines, giving actors tutorials to do makeup or special effects either in person or over Skype or Zoom. Either way, they're still very much going to be involved."
The cast is hoping to start filming at the end of June, the spokeswoman added.
NEIGHBOURS
The cast and crew of Neighbours were some of the first in the world to get back to filming.
Filming was briefly halted in March, as coronavirus cases and deaths soared around the world, while the Channel 5 soap remained on air in the UK and in Australia.
With big open spaces and great weather in Oz, there were the perfect conditions to start making new episodes while complying with social distancing guidelines.
Neighbours bosses have since paved the way for TV shows around the world to plan a comeback, being the first show to put down a blueprint to making studios safe to work in amid the pandemic.
Actor Stefan Dennis has shared his surprise over the reaction it received worldwide, with the plans they made now being used to help other shows return.
Speaking on This Morning, he told hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes about the "strict" measures cast must stick to.
He said: "When you walk into the makeup department, it’s like walking into a surgery, because you’ve got the makeup artist with rubber gloves and masks and full gowns.
"Same with the wardrobe, the costume department… Obviously we have to keep the 1.5 metre distance, that is the rule. It is extremely strict."
The cast and crew have been split into four separate groups, who do not interact, to limit the amount of possible contact.
Stefan added: "What we’ve done is we’ve actually broken the studio up into four groups, four teams which are all colour coded.
"We cannot cross over [into another group] and it's really weird, because when my son was working on the show a couple of weeks ago, he was at work and I was at work and I couldn’t even see him.”
On other measures on set, he continued: "We have medical officers and a nurse that does the temperature check… You can come into the compound as long as you don’t get out of your car.
"You can’t enter the building without being temperature checked by the nurse and given the all clear.
"All the hallways are divided in half and you have to keep well to the wall so you have that distance.
"There’s no touching, there’s only a certain amount of actors on one set at one time."
