ITV is looking to capitalise on the current ratings crisis hitting EastEnders by positioning Emmerdale as the UK's number two soap behind Coronation Street.
ITV's director of drama John Whiston told The Guardian today: "I want to build Emmerdale into the number two soap in the UK. Two or three years ago I wouldn't have believed that was possible, but now I do.
"Emmerdale seems to be going from strength to strength at the moment. EastEnders may come storming back, [but] there's also a chance things might spiral further into decline. A couple of years before the end of Brookside you would never have thought it was going to go down the pan. It happened really dramatically."
Last month ITV pitted a series of hour-long Emmerdale specials directly against EastEnders on Tuesday nights - suprisingly, it emerged victor, sending the ratings for the BBC soap down to its lowest ever.
"That moment caught Emmerdale on a particular roll and EastEnders on a particular low. If you lock people in with good, gripping stuff, they stay with it. Particularly if the alternative is all doom and gloom," said Whiston. "If you get the pacing right [for 60-minute specials], it feels fresh and gathers its own momentum. But it's got to be special, not just schedule filling."
Emmerdale currently averages 10 million viewers, while EastEnders has 12 million and Coronation Street 13 million.
ITV's director of drama John Whiston told The Guardian today: "I want to build Emmerdale into the number two soap in the UK. Two or three years ago I wouldn't have believed that was possible, but now I do.
"Emmerdale seems to be going from strength to strength at the moment. EastEnders may come storming back, [but] there's also a chance things might spiral further into decline. A couple of years before the end of Brookside you would never have thought it was going to go down the pan. It happened really dramatically."
Last month ITV pitted a series of hour-long Emmerdale specials directly against EastEnders on Tuesday nights - suprisingly, it emerged victor, sending the ratings for the BBC soap down to its lowest ever.
"That moment caught Emmerdale on a particular roll and EastEnders on a particular low. If you lock people in with good, gripping stuff, they stay with it. Particularly if the alternative is all doom and gloom," said Whiston. "If you get the pacing right [for 60-minute specials], it feels fresh and gathers its own momentum. But it's got to be special, not just schedule filling."
Emmerdale currently averages 10 million viewers, while EastEnders has 12 million and Coronation Street 13 million.
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