diff --git a/src/calibre/ebooks/txt/txtml.py b/src/calibre/ebooks/txt/txtml.py
index 6957e53d43..59c3ea671a 100644
--- a/src/calibre/ebooks/txt/txtml.py
+++ b/src/calibre/ebooks/txt/txtml.py
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ BLOCK_STYLES = [
 ]
 
 SPACE_TAGS = [
-    'span',
     'td',
 ]