Following reports that Emmerdale and Coronation Street could be forced to once again shut down filming amid "soaring" Covid cases, it's now come to light that a number of the stars have allegedly refused the vaccine.
Fans will remember that last year, at the start of the pandemic, major soaps were forced to stop filming, with networks laying on old or iconic episodes to fill the gap in programming.
But now it looks as though Emmerdale and Corrie will once again shut down their sets after many of the shows' most famous faces and members of the crew are reportedly turning down their vaccines.
A source said, “It is, of course, everyone’s personal choice whether they are vaccinated or not.
“On both soaps, there’s a handful of cast members as well as production staff who say they won’t be vaccinated and that’s up to them.
“However, there is a matter of collective responsibility and in an industry where the cast and crew groups are small, a positive Covid test can cause real production nightmares.”
Speaking to The Sun, they added, “There’s also the matter of giving the virus to older people who despite being vaccinated themselves are still at risk of infection.”
CHECK OUT: next week's Coronation Street spoilers - the naked charity calendar gets underway
Coronation Street Monday 19 - Friday 23 July slider
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The week begins with Kevin preparing to shoot his charity naked calendar photo in the garage, dressed as a suave captain hook. As Brian adjusts the finishing touches on the camera set up, Kevin drops his robe - just as Abi walks in.
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Emma is clearly catching feelings for Curtis but when Steve hears that Curtis is at the bistro with a mystery woman he storms round to tear a strip off him. Later Curtis tells him that he's got the wrong end of the stick but will Steve be able to keep his secret?
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Following the incident with the stolen heat pump, Billy is gutted to learn that insurance won't cover it. Billy meets up with the bishop at the café and tells him he's respectfully resigning from the archdeacon role as he's clearly not up to the job. Overhearing everything, Todd is wracked with guilt.
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Tyrone is annoyed when Kevin convinces him not to bother writing an article about Fiz as no one wants to hear a bad word against her - while Chris puts pressure on Fiz for a follow up. Later Tyrone goes to pick up a takeaway from Speed Dahl for Alina and he but fumes when he sees Fiz there enjoying her date with Phill.
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Nick is thrilled that Natasha is allowing him to spend more time with Sam and when she asks if he and Leanne can take him for the week, Sam quickly makes Oliver's old room his own. Wondering if he's upset Leanne, Nick is apologetic but soon she tells Sam to make himself at home.
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In the pub, Laura complains that she's skint and when Carla mentions there's a cleaning gig going at the factory, she's eager to take it. Later Laura visits Kelly in prison and asks her what really happened the night of the attack - Kelly admits she's been having flashbacks.
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The menfolk of the town are getting their calendar photos done but Mr December Dev is getting cold feet. After he's left red-faced when his shoot is interrupted by Debbie, Dev demands Emma and Curtis pull the print run and remove his photo, but Emma thinks it might already be too late.
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When Fiz asks Tyrone to take the girls for the evening because she's got another date with Phill, he says he's already got dinner plans with Alina. At the Bistro Tyrone glares at Fiz on her date, upsetting Alina. Later when Tyrone's bank card is declined, Phill offers to foot the bill, leaving a drunk Tyrone angry and humiliated. When Tyrone swings a punch, Fiz is horrified.
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A source had previously told the same publication, “It’s been a really hard year for both soaps. They’ve had to work through the most difficult period in television history.
“Everyone has decided that a break is in order, which is almost unprecedented.
“The storyliners plan a long way in advance, and there's certain things they'd have hoped they could write in for later in the year.
"But scenes that involve kissing, fighting and anything that really breaks social distancing are out for now. So there's had to be rewrites.”
The potential shut-down comes at a “critical” point for both soaps as they prepare to film episodes for what’s been referred to as Super Soap Week – a period of explosive scenes and high drama storylines.
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Back in March last year, Corrie’s Andrew Whyment, who plays Kirk Sutherland, told of how bosses feared they would run out of episodes to air during the extended break from filming.
"We worked up until the Friday when Boris [Johnson] closed all the pubs and clubs,” he said.
“We had a schedule to work until the following Thursday then on the Sunday we got an email saying they were standing everyone down. It was the right thing to do.”
He added, “We’ve got until July in the can, so we need to get back mid-June otherwise it’s going to go off air.”