The makers of Coronation Street and Emmerdale are in the “final stages” of working on plans for the soaps to return to production, according to a spokeswoman for the programmes.
Filming of the soaps had been paused since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The spokeswoman said: “We are in the final stages of working with others across the industry on a return to production protocol and we are in active discussions with Government on this.”
She added that the “health and wellbeing of our people and those who work with us has always been our highest priority and remains so as we look to restart production”.
After filming for the soaps was paused, ITV reduced the amount of episodes being aired each week to three in an effort to make the content they had already filmed last longer.
The broadcaster also made classic episodes of the soaps available on its on-demand platform, ITV Hub.
Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod said last week that coronavirus will feature in future episodes of the soap but will not “dominate” the soap’s storylines.
Last month ITV director of television Kevin Lygo said that soaps could return to screens with older cast members absent.
Speaking at the Edinburgh Television Festival, he said: “We won’t go back in shooting until we are convinced it is safe, we don’t want to put any of our staff, our cast and our crew, at risk.
“Some people who are in a dangerous zone, by age or health reasons, they won’t be there, I’m sure, for a time.
“I don’t want Ken Barlow (played by William Roache, 88, in Coronation Street) to get sick on my watch.
“We will be very careful and mindful about that sort of thing.”
The update on a possible return to filming comes after Lygo said that Emmerdale will run out of episodes at the end of May, while Coronation Street will run out of episodes after June.
On Thursday the BBC’s director of content, Charlotte Moore, said in The Telegraph that the broadcaster plans “to begin filming again on both EastEnders and Top Gear by the end of June”.
According to reports, EastEnders will come off air once new material that was filmed before the lockdown runs out and before new episodes are broadcast.
However, current TV schedules show that the soap will continue to air until at least May 26.
