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Daily Mirror

ITV soap stalwart quits after almost 30 years: 'It's the right time to leave'

ITV has announced that its Managing Director of Continuing Drama and Head of ITV in the North, John Whiston, is retiring after 27 years in the company. The executive's role was to oversee Coronation Street and Emmerdale, having spent over 40 years in the television industry. In a statement, John said that the role is "the best job in TV", adding: "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. "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 onto say that Iain MacLeod and Matt Cleary will be taking over after his exit. "With the appointment of Iain MacLeod as Creative Director and Matt Cleary as Chief Operating Officer and with fantastic stories in place for the move to five episodes a week next January, and a never-before-seen mega mash-up between the two shows, the future for our ITV Soaps is set fair. "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." It comes after the ITV soaps announced big changes over the last few months - including an upcoming Corrie and Emmerdale cross-over special and a move to slash episodes next year.