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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

ITV Emmerdale teases cousins at war, sudden arrival and Meena twist ahead of schedule shake-up

Emmerdale is not set to be short of drama as a shake-up to the schedule brings cousins at war and a sudden arrival.

And there's even a Meena Jutla twist for good measure.

The ITV soap has teased some of its upcoming storylines ahead of a shake-up to its schedule.

From Monday, March 7, Emmerdale will air at the new time of 7.30pm every weekday - half an hour later than it currently airs - with an-hour long episode still being aired on Thursdays.

READ MORE: ITV Coronation Street's knife-edge showdown and a life-changing decision teased in tense first-look pictures

The announcement caused a little bit of controversy among soap lovers as the new time results in a clash with rival soap EastEnders of BBC.

However, the timeslot change marks a new era for Emmerdale as it celebrates its 50th year in 2022.

And it all starts with the gloves being thrown off for cousins Charity and Chas Dingle.

At the centre of village life, the Dingles are renowned for their feisty relationships, and with The Woolpack and the B&B set to host special events on the same day, the warring landladies take sides and create havoc in a battle of one-upmanship.

Charity, played by Emma Atkins, and Lucy Pargeter as Chas, try their best to sabotage each other’s events and when they finally come face to face all hell breaks loose.

Chas and Charity got to war (PA)

It comes after Charity swooped in to save the day, with the help of son Ryan, to buy the Woolie at auction.

Chas was on the brink of losing her beloved pub after Al Chapman's involvement led to an explosion at the pub on Christmas Day.

With Chas' brother Cain keen to back his sister, he threatened Al and got involved with one of his investors - leading to the sneaky businessman's plans falling through.

Elsewhere in the village, Mandy Dingle is traumatised to discover her only son has married his girlfriend Liv Flaherty without her knowledge.

Mandy will be left gutted to learn Vinny got married without telling her (PA)

Vinny is guilt-ridden when Mandy explains that she feels betrayed and sees his secret wedding as completely disrespectful.

Meanwhile, even though her murdering sister is finally in custody, Manpreet Sharma still isn’t safe.

Desperate for Meena Jutla to confess to her horrific crimes, she pays her a visit. But will manipulative Meena find a way to take her sister down with her?

And last, but by no means least, Rhona Goskirk has always had a strained relationship with her mother Mary.

Mary (left) played by Louise Jameson and Rhona played by Zoe Henry in Emmerdale (PA)

She's set to be left stunned by her sudden arrival in the village but will they heal their rift or only serve to escalate their estrangement?

Former EastEnders star Louise Jameson will be joining the cast of Emmerdale as Rhona's mum Mary.

The 70-year-old actress will be recognised for playing Rosa Di Marco in EastEnders from 1998 to 2000.

Louise's casting in the ITV soap was announced in January with Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw teasing: "Intelligent, witty and complex, Mary promises to be a force to be reckoned with in the village, and for Rhona there won’t ever be a dull moment whilst her domineering mother is around."

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