Fair City bosses revealed there will be no episode on Thursday due to a schedule change.
After a drama filled few weeks in the Dublin-based soap with Lucy’s arrival and the ongoing drugs saga, fans will have to wait patiently for their next fix as RTE makes room for the football tonight.
The Carrigstown characters have been pushed aside on account of the European Qualifiers for the World Cup 2022 as Ireland takes on Portugal at the Aviva Stadium.
The popular programme, which usually airs on RTÉ One every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, instead aired a double episode on Sunday to make up for the schedule clash.
Fair City will return with four episodes next week, and will air as normal again on Sunday this week.
It comes after Fair City bosses revealed they had to make an emergency cast replacement this week after actress Stephanie Kelly, who plays Sash Bishop, was too sick to film major scenes.
The actress, who is involved in the main storyline, was replaced by understudy Charleigh Bailey in episodes this week, after falling ill in recent weeks.
Explaining the decision to bring in a replacement, Executive Producer Brigie DeCourcy said it would have been too difficult to write the character out of the show due to her central role in the drug storyline taking over Carrigstown at the minute.
She said: “The decision to cast Charleigh was made very quickly. The character of Sash is involved in our main storyline and has significant impact to that story.
“To write Sash out for four episodes at this stage in the story would have looked very odd to our viewers, sending her on an emergency down the country or what have you.”
Charleigh Bailey is familiar to the cast and crew of Ireland’s favourite soap having played Kelly Allen between 2011 and 2016.
Brigie added: “Charleigh knows the ropes, she’s been with us before, she’s an incredible actor and the cast and crew have been brilliant working with her, supporting her and viewers will see Charleigh fit in as Sash as though she has always been there”.
It was a case of all departments scrambling together to get Charleigh ready for filming, working through scenes and movement in rehearsals, as well as changing the wardrobe to suit her.
But the soap boss said: “Like the story being played out at the moment between Sash, Tommy and Carol, they have all pulled together like a family."
