EastEnders: Why is BBC changing time slot for hit soap next month?

New scheduling will come into play on 7 March

BBC has announced a huge scheduling change, with EastEnders set to air in a new regular slot beginning next month.

Starting the week of 7 March, EastEnders will no longer air on Friday nights. The hit BBC soap will instead air at 7.30pm from Monday to Thursday.

This is the first time that the soap will air on Wednesday nights.

BBC soap Doctors will also air in a different slot, with the daytime show set to be repeated Monday to Thursday at 7.00pm on BBC Two.

BBC Studios’ continuing drama chief Kate Oates said of the change: “Both shows have a loyal following; and this new simplified schedule means it’s even easier for viewers to get their fix, as well as being able to watch whenever and wherever they choose on iPlayer.”

Both EastEnders and Doctors will still be available to watch on iPlayer when the new schedule begins.

Dyer as Mick Carter in ‘EastEnders' (BBC / Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)

BBC Three will continue to air repeats of EastEnders on weekends.

The new changes to the BBC’s schedule follows a shake-up by ITV to its own timings, with both Coronation Street and Emmerdale affected.

Last month, ITV announced that the 6.30pm national and international news broadcast would be extended to an hour. Both soaps will therefore be pushed back, creating a 90-minute block of unbroken soap drama three times a week from March.

This means Emmerdale will air at 7.30pm and Coronation Street at 8.00pm.

Coronation Street will continue to be shown on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights for an hour, and Emmerdale will continue to air an hour-long episode on Thursdays.