17 January 2023 , 14:56
686
0
EastEnders, Waterloo Road and Silent Witness have all been pulled from TV schedules tonight in a major shake-up for BBC One.
The three programmes usually run back-to-back, with EastEnders starting at 7.30pm, but tonight they've had to make way for the football and won't be shown at all.
Instead, they'll be shown on Wednesday night in their usual time slots with Eastenders on at 7.30pm, Waterloo Road at 8pm and Silent Witness at 9pm.
Wolverhampton Wanderers will be playing Liverpool in the FA Cup on Match of the Day at 7.45pm live on BBC One.
Of course, it's not the first time the football has caused disruption to TV scheduling.
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness
Last year, soap fans were outraged to find that Emmerdale and Coronation Street had been cancelled due to the World Cup in Qatar.
The much-loved shows were switched from their usual time slots on ITV, to make room for coverage of the controversial tournament.
Fans weren't pleased about the disruption, with one taking to Twitter, fuming: "There are no shows on TV!!"
EastEnders won't be shown on TV tonight (Jan 17th) (BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)However, to prepare for the shake-up, all the episodes of Emmerdale and Coronation Street were available on ITVX ahead of time so that viewers could still watch the show even when if it wasn't on air.
BBC iPlayer also dropped a week’s worth of episodes of EastEnders to try and give viewers the chance to catch up on the drama in Albert Square after it had to switch up its schedule due to the World Cup.
BBC One viewers also noticed the impact of the schedule reshuffle for other shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, which bumped it’s quarter-final from Saturday to Friday evening.
Fans will have to wait to watch Waterloo Road (BBC/Wall To Wall/Rope Ladder Fiction/James Stack)The one-off time slot left viewers baffled, as many shared their frustrations on Twitter after they missed the show because they didn’t realise it was broadcast a day earlier than usual.
ITV and the BBC also made huge changes to their schedules following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
The broadcasters switched up their time slots in the wake of the monarch's passing, after she died at the age of 96 at her home of Balmoral in Scotland.
Silent Witness is also making way for the footy (BBC Studios)Big changes had to be made to allow for rolling news coverage as the former Prince of Wales becomes King Charles III alongside his wife, Camilla, Queen Consort.
Bird charity banned from Twitter for repeatedly posting woodcock photos
The BBC also cleared its scheduled programming following the announcement the Queen was under medical supervision, prior to Her Majesty's passing.
The broadcaster cut short its midday show for a news special as the great grandmother was said to be under supervision at Balmoral, after doctors became concerned for her health.