Coronation Street and Emmerdale signing returns to ITV tonight during Deaf Awareness Week
The service had to be put on hold due to safety concerns during the coronavirus crisis.
Coronation Street and Emmerdale viewers will once again be able to view the signed episodes from tonight (6th May) after the sign language service was halted due to social distancing restrictions.
The rules had prohibited the use of the SignPost studio but the team have now devised a new way of working which allows signing to be applied to the ITV soaps while adhering to the distancing guidelines.
The team behind the signing service on ITV trialled the new procedure before beginning filming again last week.
Coronation Street and Emmerdale viewers will see the service return from tonight.
In a statement, Kenny Toal, Director of ITV SignPost said: “Finding a way to restore signing to our Soaps for viewers in lockdown was a big priority for us and I’m immensely proud of the team who have been innovative, creative and determined in equal measure in order to pull this off.”
The news comes during Deaf Awareness Week.
SignPost has also announced it will be providing signing for the Oak National Academy, signing video content for Maths and English lessons.
The Government-backed online teaching source is supporting school children and parents tasked with homeschooling duties during the coronavirus lockdown, featuring lessons for Years 1-3.
Elsewhere, Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod confirmed the soap will address the coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking to press including RadioTimes.com, he said show bosses had talked "a lot" about whether or not to include the pandemic in the upcoming storylines or whether "we would exist in a parallel universe where everything proceeded in a pre-pandemic fashion".
“Ultimately, what I thought was, the Coronation Street that we love is the one that reflects modern Britain, albeit in a more heightened way sometimes," he concluded.
"It just felt that if there were no coronavirus in Coronation Street, it would stop being a reflection of modern Britain and would instead be a parallel fantasy land.”
But MacLeod also promised fans the impact the coronavirus has on Weatherfield won't "dominate" the storylines, in order for the soap to continue to provide escapism while also reflecting modern Britain.
Visit our dedicated Coronation Street and Emmerdale pages for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. For more information about what’s on, visit our handy TV guide.
Authors
Minnie Wright is the News Editor of Radio Times, covering TV, Film and Entertainment from the latest dramas and thrillers to sci-fi, fantasy and reality TV – from BBC to Netflix. She has a background in TV, Film, Showbiz and Music at a major national publication and a degree in Popular Music Journalism.
