Coronation Street and EastEnders News Update: Extras Afraid COVID-19 May Cause Them To Never Work Again

ITV Coronation Street and BBC EastEnders spoilers reveal that there is both good news and bad news to be had in light of the recent return to production for the two soaps. Filming on both came to a screeching halt in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic reared its deadly head. The soaps, along with other television and film projects worldwide, were closed down and filming has just started back up again.

There are a tremendous number of changes due to taking necessary precautions to keep all involved on the set safe. One is a mandatory distance rule and this has some actors who work as extras concerned that their work opportunities may evaporate completely.

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Extra Ty Hurley has appeared in EastEnders and he told the MailOnline, “It’s a distressing time for a lot of people and realistically, supporting artists are going to be the last people called back to work in the TV world. I may be forced to look for different work altogether. It feels like I’m starting all over again.”

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Extras are commonly used to fill in scenes in restaurants, pubs, parks, and the like, but with social distancing rules, this type of work is not in action. Coronation Street and EastEnders routinely used extras to fill in as background crowds, but the limits on how many people can be on set at one time have discouraged their use.

Aside from the extras finding themselves out of work, some cast regulars have been also been discontinued for the time being. It does not seem as if the rule for social distancing will go away anytime soon, which has actors worried, and parent companies scrambling to put together comprehensive protocols to remain in compliance.

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Broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Sky, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are working in concert to compile a standardized set of filming guidelines. As with extra actor Hurley, it is believed that many extras have taken on non-acting jobs during this uncertain time.

Coronation Street and EastEnders spoilers – Some extras fear they may never return to their line of work

Tony Gerrard of Ray Knight Casting notes, “Business literally stopped overnight, like someone had turned the tap off. As filming gets going again, it will be very gradual with just the principal actors to begin with, using clever camera angles. I honestly don’t know how crowd shots are going to be filmed safely at this stage. Studios tend to be quite small.”