Coronation Street and Emmerdale have announced major behind-the-scenes changes as longstanding boss John Whiston stands down.
The producer has overseen the two major ITV soaps in his role as Managing Director of Continuing Drama and Head of ITV in the North, though is now retiring after 27 years at the broadcaster.
ITV has confirmed that current Corrie and Emmerdale executive producer Iain MacLeod has been promoted to Creative Director in Whiston's wake, meaning he will take over all editorial responsibility for leading the soaps' creative teams.
The two soaps still have individual producers, however, with Kate Brooks overseeing Corrie and Sophie Roper Emmerdale.
Additionally, Matt Cleary will take on the Chief Operating Officer for Continuing Drama role, overseeing day-to-day operations and approving commercial activities for the two shows. He is also Director of Production, UK Scripted for ITV Studios.
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"I’ve always said I’ve got the best job in TV," Whiston said in a statement. "I used to say it privately in case ITV stopped paying me.
"It has been nothing short of an honour, as well as a blast, to work on the Soaps this last decade or so. We’ve had joy, we’ve had fun and we’ve had seasons in the sun.
"We’ve also had misery and mayhem. We’ve had motorway crashes, tram crashes and floods. We’ve had stories which have squeezed your heart till tears came out of your eyes. And we’ve covered pretty much anything and everything that people have to face in their own lives and we’ve done that with care and humanity.
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"And all that is down to the 600 or so people – the writers, crew, cast and editorial – who have kept the show on air and at an incredible quality day in day out. And it’s them who have made my job ridiculously easy. Just don’t tell ITV."
He went on to praise MacLeod and Cleary's promotions, before highlighting Corrie and Emmerdale's schedule changes next year to five 30-minute episodes a week and the newly-announced crossover.
"The future for our ITV Soaps is set fair," he concluded. "So it’s the right time to leave and for me just to say thank you… to colleagues, to ITV and to our loyal, appreciative audience."
The hour-long crossover between the two soaps was announced this week, with the episode due to air next January.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX. Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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