Third Corrie episode on hold

CORONATION Street has been postponed for a third night running in the aftermath of the Cumbrian shootings, ITV said yesterday.

Last night’s show has been shelved until next week, following cancelled screenings on Wednesday and Thursday, due to the show’s climactic plot which features the use of guns.

The scheduling headache will now see extra programmes slotted into next week’s programming to get the soap back on track.

This week the Street’s high-profile launch in HD was to revolve around an armed siege, orchestrated by escaped convict Tony Gordon (Gray O’Brien), which leaves two characters dead.

But programme bosses thought it would have been inappropriate to screen the episodes in the wake of the killings in Cumbria.

Extra instalments of the soap will now be shown on Wednesday and Thursday.

An ITV spokesman said: “We apologise to ITV1 viewers for the interruption to this week’s Coronation Street scheduling but, against the backdrop of Wednesday’s tragic events in Cumbria, it would have been inappropriate to broadcast these episodes this week.”