EastEnders will air LATER during Tokyo Olympics

From Monday 26th July...

Author: Alex RossPublished 15th Jul 2021
Last updated 15th Jul 2021

Just weeks after the scheduling went to pot for The UEFA European Football Championship, it's been confirmed that popular soap EastEnders will once again be moved in order to accommodate the BBC's footage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Summer Games, which were postponed last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, kick off on Friday 23rd July, with the BBC having full coverage of all the events.

Of course, just like it did with the football, this means the usual listings will be shuffled around a little, with bosses confirming that EastEnders will air in later slots of 9pm and 9.05pm.

From Monday 26th July, the popular soap will air at 9.05pm on Mondays and Fridays, with a time of 9pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

It's not all bad news though, BBC bosses have confirmed they will continue to upload weekly boxsets of episodes to the BBC iPlayer, just like they did during the Euros.

Jon Sen, Executive Producer at EastEnders said: "We're so glad that the audience has enjoyed getting ahead of the game – keeping up with Albert Square on iPlayer whilst enjoying the Euros, so we're carrying on releasing the week's episodes on Monday throughout Tokyo 2020.

"There's enough happening in Walford this summer to keep everyone on the edge of their seats and we're thrilled audiences won't need to miss out on anything."

Check out next week's EastEnders spoilers below:

When Ben finds details about Paul's killer he plans to meet up with Simon and get revenge. After Callum discovers his plan he tries to get Phil to help Ben see sense but Phil tells his son-in-law to sort it out on his own.

Bernie manages to get more diet pills but when Tiff forces her to do a pregnancy test she's stunned when Keegan arrives him. Eventually she tells him the truth about the surrogacy - what will Keegan say?

Tiffany's insecurities begin to control her, especially when she spots Keegan with a journalist...

The Panesar family continue to grieve after Jags' death and as his funeral approaches the worry about Suki's health.

Lola attempts to visit Isaac but when she finds out he doesn't want to see her, she promises that she'll visit every day with a burger until he's ready to see her.

As Frankie begins her driving lessons she's filled with nerves. As she starts talking to her dad, Mick tells her the truth about Linda's pregnancy.

Bobby Beale has a surprise birthday party but he's even more shocked when Dana's dad arrives - what will he think of his daughter's boyfriend?

Denise is furious that Phil wants joint custody of their son.

Following the shutdown of production last year during the first outbreak of Coronavirus, bosses made the decision to return with four x 20 minute episodes per week, something they carried on when filming returned to normal.

According to reports, this decision was made to attract a younger audience to the long-standing soap, with research suggesting youngsters are more likely to switch off if something is over 20 minutes long.

EastEnders will continue to air in it's usual slot until Monday 26th July when the Tokyo Olympics footage begins on the BBC.

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