Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street is returning to an hour-long slot on Christmas Day this year, Digital Spy can confirm.
The long-running soap's festive special will run for 60 minutes as legendary character Gail Rodwell bows out.
Last year, soap fans were shocked as Coronation Street and Emmerdale were both cut back to 30-minute slots on Christmas Day rather than the usual hour-long specials.
This was the shortest Corrie Christmas episode since 1997, which was the last time the show had a 30-minute slot on the day prior to 2023.
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Newly-released schedules for Christmas Day have now revealed that Corrie will air for an hour between 7pm and 8pm this year, reverting to the familiar scheduling tradition.
The news isn't so good for Emmerdale fans, as the show will be sticking to 30 minutes again on Christmas Day this year. Emmerdale airs for half an hour between 6.30pm and 7pm, just before Corrie.
Last week, Coronation Street's new producer Kate Brooks confirmed that Gail will leave Weatherfield in the Christmas Day episode.
With the exact circumstances of her departure being kept under wraps until that night, the episode won't be released early on ITVX.
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Speaking at a press event, Brooks told Digital Spy and other media: "In a word, Christmas is very fun this year. It's a very lively Christmas on the Street and lots of bombshells are dropped.
"Obviously, this is set against Gail's wedding. Whether she goes through with that or not, I cannot say anything! But this is a story with the Platts at the heart of it.
"It's really festive. Basically it's a story about family and how secrets impact and implode on a family. There are a lot of betrayals. Lots of secrets are exposed during this episode and it will be like classic Corrie, with a bit of a twist.
"I think we're all in need of a bit of escapism at the minute and we've had quite a dark but brilliant few months on the cobbles. The Christmas period for us is all about trying to tap into the family dynamics of the Platts, what makes people tick, and ultimately trying to make sure that we give glorious Gail the exit that she deserves."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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