Home and Away to take a break on Channel 5 as Christmas plans are revealed

 The Summer Bay drama will go off air for a while.

The long-running soap traditionally disappears from UK screens in mid-November, making way for Channel 5's afternoon Christmas films.

New schedules released today have confirmed that the final Home and Away episode of the year will air on Channel 5 on Friday, November 18.

The show will screen in the usual slot of 1.45pm on Channel 5, with the evening repeat at 6pm on 5STAR.

There will be no 6.30pm first-look screening on 5STAR that evening, meaning that fans will have to wait a few weeks for the next episode.

Channel 5 bosses appear to have worked closely with the Home and Away team in Australia, as the final UK episode of the year ends on a dramatic cliffhanger.

This was also the case last year, when the final Channel 5 episode of the year featured the gas poisoning incident at Salt.

The tactic emulates the way Channel 5 previously worked with Neighbours before the days of same-day broadcasts. Neighbours fans were often treated to a big end-of-year cliffhanger for UK viewers, regardless of the transmission gap with Australia..

No return date has been confirmed for Home and Away just yet, but the show usually arrives back on UK screens in early January.

Details of the Australian season finale and end-of-year break on Channel 7 are yet to be revealed.

Home and Away still takes a break in both countries as it's traditionally only commissioned for a certain number of episodes per year, usually around 230.

This equates to 46 weeks' worth of Summer Bay drama, if the show airs in a five-episodes-per-week scheduling pattern.

As there aren't enough episodes for Channel 5 to air Home and Away all year round, the UK broadcaster chooses to take a break towards Christmas time when the gap can be filled with festive films.

The channel has always avoided catching up with Australia, where Home and Away episodes are often subject to scheduling changes on Channel 7.

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5 and 6pm on 5STAR. First-look screenings air at 6.30pm on 5STAR and the show also streams on My5.