A soap opera , daytime drama , or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial , frequently characterized by melodrama , ensemble casts , and sentimentality . The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by " horse opera ", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
154-496: Coronation Street (colloquially referred to as Corrie ) is a British television soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Greater Manchester . The location was itself based on Salford , the hometown of the show's first screenwriter and creator. Originally broadcast twice weekly,
308-491: A "serial killer" by the media. Todd Grimshaw ( Bruno Langley ) became Corrie's first regular homosexual character. In 2003, another gay male character was introduced, Sean Tully ( Antony Cotton ). The bigamy of Peter Barlow ( Chris Gascoyne ) and his addiction to alcohol, later in the decade, Maya Sharma 's ( Sasha Behar ) revenge on former lover Dev Alahan ( Jimmi Harkishin ), Charlie Stubbs 's ( Bill Ward ) psychological abuse of Shelley Unwin ( Sally Lindsay ), and
462-546: A 1982 poll, she was voted fourth-most recognisable woman in Britain, after Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales . Hilda's best-known attributes were her pinny , hair curlers, and the "muriel" in her living room with three "flying" duck ornaments. Hilda Ogden's departure on Christmas Day 1987, remains the highest-rated episode of Coronation Street ever, with nearly 27,000,000 viewers. Stan Ogden had been killed off in 1984 following
616-611: A 40-year-plus run, were cancelled in 2011. All My Children aired its network finale in September 2011, with One Life to Live following suit in January 2012. Both All My Children and One Life to Live were briefly revived online in 2013, before being cancelled again that same year. In 2019, production of Days of Our Lives was put on "indefinite hiatus" and all of the cast's contracts were terminated, raising concerns within soap publications that cancellation would ensue, though
770-652: A 72-year run (including radio). As the World Turns aired its final episode on September 17, 2010, after a 54-year run. As the World Turns was the last of 20 soap operas produced by Procter & Gamble, the soap and consumer goods company from which the genre got its name. As the World Turns and Guiding Light were also among the last of the soaps that originated from New York City. All My Children , another New York–based soap, moved its production out to Los Angeles in an effort to reduce costs and raise sagging ratings; however, both it and One Life to Live , each with
924-438: A baby girl, Hope . The episode of EastEnders broadcast on the same day as Coronation Street 's 50th anniversary episode included a tribute, with the character Dot Branning ( June Brown , who briefly appeared in the show during the 1970s) saying that she never misses an episode of Coronation Street . On 7 February 2020, with its 60th anniversary ten months away, Coronation Street aired its landmark 10,000th episode,
1078-420: A black family, but all of these ideas were dropped for fear of upsetting viewers. The show's production team was tested when many core cast members left the programme in the early 1970s. When Arthur Leslie died suddenly in 1970, his character, Rovers landlord Jack Walker , died off screen shortly afterwards. Anne Reid quit as Valerie Barlow ; her character was killed off in 1971, electrocuting herself with
1232-663: A daughter, and remained married until Palmer's death on 15 January 1980, aged 79. Her eldest son, Michael, was killed in an R.A.F. parachutists' air crash disaster at Abingdon , on 7 July 1965. In April 1990, it was reported that Carol had died in a nursing home in Lytham St Annes , following a hoax telephone call received by Granada Television, while she was visiting her family in Düsseldorf , Germany. Carol suffered from angina , being hospitalised in May 1990. She died of
1386-400: A dead body, but hey, even if you do, he or she can always come back to play the evil identical twin. Marlena Laird in 1992, during her time as a line producer and director for General Hospital . Romance , secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines. In US daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and
1540-409: A decade that had seen significant economic and social change in the nation. Granada hurried to update the programme, with the hope of introducing more issue-driven stories, including Lucille Hewitt ( Jennifer Moss ) becoming addicted to drugs, Jerry Booth ( Graham Haberfield ) being in a storyline about homosexuality, Emily Nugent ( Eileen Derbyshire ) having an out-of-wedlock child, and introducing
1694-465: A faulty hairdryer. Ratings reached a low of eight million in February 1973, when Pat Phoenix quit as Elsie Tanner and Doris Speed ( Annie Walker ) took two months' leave due to bereavement. The audience of ITV's other flagship soap opera Crossroads increased markedly at this time, as its established cast, such as Meg Richardson ( Noele Gordon ), grew in popularity. These sudden departures forced
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#17327654587321848-463: A fixture of American daytime television in the early 1950s, joined by game shows , sitcom reruns and talk shows. In 1988, H. Wesley Kenney , who at the time served as the executive producer of General Hospital , said to The New York Times : I think people like stories that continue so they can relate to these people. They become like a family, and the viewer becomes emotionally involved. There seem to be two attitudes by viewers. One, that
2002-511: A funeral. Once Tylo reprised her character in 2005, a retcon explained that Taylor had actually gone into a coma. Stunts and complex physical action are largely absent, especially from daytime serials. Such story events often take place off-screen and are referred to in dialogue instead of being shown. This is because stunts or action scenes are difficult to adequately depict without complex movements, multiple takes, and post-production editing. When episodes were broadcast live, post-production work
2156-579: A justifiable way to write him out while still leaving enough scope for a possible return. The decision was made that Brian should die. Quinten was in Los Angeles when the storyline was decided, and upon his return to the United Kingdom, he was shocked at Brian's fate and threatened to fly back to America so that scenes could not be filmed. He was talked round by co-star Helen Worth, who pointed out that he might be blacklisted by Equity if he quit
2310-432: A married couple whose onscreen and real-life romance was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press at large. The first program generally considered to be a "soap opera" or daytime serial by scholars of the genre is Painted Dreams , which premiered on WGN radio Chicago, on October 20, 1930. It was regularly broadcast in a daytime time slot, where most listeners would be housewives; thus,
2464-564: A more contemporary environment. The dialogue often included expletives and the stories were more hard-hitting, and of the current Zeitgeist. Whereas stories at this time in Coronation Street were largely about family affairs, Brookside concentrated on social affairs such as industrial action , unemployment, drugs, rape, and the black market . The BBC also introduced a new prime time soap opera, EastEnders in 1985. While ratings for Coronation Street remained consistent throughout
2618-423: A new broom policy and the "Bloody Purge" of 1964 began, with nine actors being sacked in total. The first cast member to be written out was Lynne Carol , who had played Martha Longhurst since episode two and the preview of the programme. Her sacking was so controversial that fellow actress Violet Carson ( Ena Sharples ) threatened to quit, but she was eventually persuaded not to. The media reported extensively on
2772-449: A new studio being built, and the inclusion of more location filming, which had moved exterior scenes from being shot on film to videotape in 1988. Due to new pressures, an introduction of the third weekly episode aired on 20 October 1989, to broadcast each Friday at 7:30 pm. The 1980s featured some of the most prominent storylines in the programme's history, such as Deirdre Barlow's affair with Mike Baldwin ( Johnny Briggs ) in 1983,
2926-583: A number of soap actors were also accomplished stage actors who performed live theater during breaks from their soap roles. In the 1960s and 1970s, new serials such as General Hospital , Days of our Lives , and The Young and the Restless were produced in Los Angeles . Their success made the West Coast a viable alternative to New York-produced soap operas, which were becoming more costly to perform. By
3080-616: A one-night stand with Carla, a story which helped pave the way for his departure. In August 2008, Jed Stone ( Kenneth Cope ) returned after 42 years. Liam Connor and his ex-sister-in-law Carla gave into their feelings for each other and began an affair. Carla's fiancée Tony Gordon ( Gray O'Brien ) discovered the affair and had Liam killed in a hit-and-run in October. Carla struggled to come to terms with Liam's death, but decided she still loved Tony and married him on 3 December, in an episode attracting 10.3 million viewers. In April 2009 it
3234-425: A particular place, or focus on a large extended family. The storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. "Soap narratives, like those of film melodramas, are marked by what Steve Neale has described as 'chance happenings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations, deus ex machina endings.'" These elements may be found across
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#17327654587323388-525: A radio drama in January 1937 and subsequently transferred to television in June 1952. With the exception of several years in the late 1940s, during which creator Irna Phillips was involved in a dispute with Procter & Gamble , Guiding Light was heard or seen nearly every weekday from 1937 to 2009, making it the longest story ever told in a broadcast medium. Originally serials were broadcast as 15-minute installments each weekday in daytime slots. In 1956, As
3542-568: A relationship with con-man Jon Lindsay ( Owen Aaronovitch ). The episode in which Deirdre was sent to prison had an audience of 19 million viewers, and 'Free the Weatherfield One' campaigns sprung up in a media frenzy. Then Prime Minister Tony Blair even passed comment on Deirdre's sentencing in Parliament. Deirdre was freed after three weeks, with Granada stating that they had always intended for her to be released, in spite of
3696-510: A series of daily prime time soaps from 2006 to 2007, which aired on newly created sister network MyNetworkTV , but the experiment was largely a failure after disappointing ratings). Due to the masses of episodes produced for a series, release of soap operas to DVD (a popular venue for distribution of current and vintage television series) is considered impractical. With the exception of occasional specials, daytime soap operas are notable by their absence from DVD release schedules (an exception being
3850-447: A set of ladders during an argument, and murdered his ex-wife Patricia ( Annabelle Apsion ), before going on to kill neighbour Maxine Peacock ( Tracy Shaw ); and attempt to kill both his mother-in-law Audrey Roberts ( Sue Nicholls ) and her longtime friend, Emily Bishop ( Eileen Derbyshire ), for financial gain due to his mounting debts. After confessing his crimes to Gail in a double episode two-hander in February 2003, Hillman left
4004-525: A short time from 1979 to 1980). More than half of the serials had expanded to one-hour episodes by 1980. As of 2012, three of the four U.S. serials air one-hour episodes each weekday; only The Bold and the Beautiful airs 30-minute episodes. Soap operas were originally broadcast live from the studio, creating what many at the time regarded as a feeling similar to that of a stage play. As nearly all soap operas were originated at that time from New York City ,
4158-484: A single missing episode) was rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s. After The Edge of Night 's 1984 cancellation, reruns of the show's final five years were shown late nights on USA Network from 1985 to 1989. On January 20, 2000, a digital cable and satellite network dedicated to the genre, Soapnet , began re-airing soaps that originally aired on ABC, NBC and CBS. Newer broadcast networks since
4312-414: A soap opera is "that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode". In 2012, Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Lloyd wrote of daily dramas: Although melodramatically eventful, soap operas such as this also have a luxury of space that makes them seem more naturalistic; indeed, the economics of
4466-462: A soap opera will generally switch between several concurrent narrative threads that may at times interconnect and affect one another or may run entirely independent to each other. Episodes may feature some of the show's storylines, but not always all of them. Especially in daytime serials and those that are broadcast each weekday, there is some rotation of both storyline and actors so any given storyline or actor will appear in some but usually not all of
4620-403: A special crossover event involving 7 British soaps to promote the topic of climate change ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference . During the week, beginning from 1 November, social media clips featuring Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell) from Emmerdale , as well as Daniel Granger ( Matthew Chambers ) from Doctors were featured on
4774-483: A stage play. Carol started her own acting career at age three. Before landing the part of Martha Longhurst, Carol worked in the provincial theatre for many years. Carol, although only 46 years old at the time, played Martha Longhurst as a waspish beldam many years her senior, who first appeared in December 1960; with Ena Sharples , played by Violet Carson and Minnie Caldwell , played by Margot Bryant she made up
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4928-461: A swimming pool. The police complaint was that Adamson's hands had strayed while giving the girls swimming lessons. Granada Television gave Adamson financial support through his legal problems, with a Crown Court jury finding him not guilty in July 1983. Adamson's dispute over his memoirs and newspaper articles was not known to the public and the media reported that Adamson had been dismissed because of
5082-401: A week's worth of episodes. Soap operas rarely conclude all their storylines at the same time. When one storyline ends, there are several other story threads at differing stages of development . Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of cliffhanger , and the season finale (if a soap incorporates a break between seasons) ends in the same way, only to be resolved when the show returns for
5236-533: Is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the actor with the longest uninterrupted performance in a single role. A number of performers played roles for 20 years or longer, occasionally on more than one show. Rachel Ames played Audrey Hardy on both General Hospital and Port Charles from 1964 until 2007, and returned in 2009. Susan Lucci played Erica Kane in All My Children from
5390-610: Is not scheduled or because of last-minute deferrals of scheduled episodes to the following day because of breaking news coverage. ( Temporary production stoppages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic similarly resulted in CBS and ABC airing older reruns of The Young and the Restless , The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital during the Spring and Summer of 2020 in order to ration first-run episodes and, eventually, to fill airtime after
5544-424: Is not uncommon for a single character to be played by multiple actors. The key character of Mike Karr on The Edge of Night was played by three actors. Conversely, several actors have remained playing the same character for many years, or decades even. Helen Wagner played Hughes family matriarch Nancy Hughes on American soap As the World Turns from its April 2, 1956, debut through her death in May 2010. She
5698-514: The News of the World quoted actor Stephen Hancock ( Ernest Bishop ) as saying "The Street kills an actor. I'm just doing a job, not acting. The scriptwriters have turned me into Ernie Bishop. I've tried to resist it but it is very hard not to play the part all the time, even at home." This was the first sight the public had of a bitter argument between Hancock and Granada Television. Hancock objected to
5852-589: The Manchester General Cemetery where a special grave had been prepared. Carol remained bitter about Martha's death and believed to the end that a terrible mistake had been made, as her character was so popular. Viewers responded by complaining in their thousands and later the writers acknowledged that they had made a mistake. Carol later appeared in the short-lived BBC serial The Newcomers , alongside Alan Browning , who later appeared in Coronation Street as Alan Howard. She also appeared in
6006-406: The television ratings and remained there for the rest of the year. Earlier in 1961, a television audience measurement (TAM) showed that 75% of available viewers (15 million) tuned into Corrie , and by 1964, the programme had over 20 million regular viewers, with ratings peaking on 2 December 1964, at 21.36 million viewers. In spite of rising popularity with viewers, Coronation Street
6160-452: The 1960s. Warren's programme was largely matriarchal, which some commentators put down to the female-dominant environment in which he grew up. Consequently, the show has a long tradition of downtrodden husbands, most famously Stan Ogden ( Bernard Youens ) and Jack Duckworth ( Bill Tarmey ), husbands of Hilda and Vera Duckworth ( Liz Dawn ), respectively. Coronation Street's longest-serving character, Ken Barlow ( William Roache ) entered
6314-547: The 1970s, became one of the first older women on the American serials to enter the workforce. Guiding Light dealt with Bert Bauer ( Charita Bauer ) and her alcoholic husband Bill, and their endless marital troubles. When Bert's status shifted to caring mother and town matriarch, her children's marital troubles were showcased. Search for Tomorrow mostly told its story through the eyes of Joanne Gardner ( Mary Stuart ). Even when stories revolved around other characters, Joanne
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6468-602: The 1979 film Yanks starring Richard Gere . Carol married Herbert (Bert) Newell Palmer in 1934 in Bideford , Devon . Palmer, born 22 April 1900, was a character actor from Easingwold , Yorkshire , who appeared in numerous television roles, including two episodes of Coronation Street and the pilot episode of its first spin-off, Pardon the Expression . The couple made their home in Blackpool , had two sons and
6622-455: The 1990s and 2000s incorporated supernatural and science fiction elements into their storylines in an attempt to boost their ratings. One of the main characters on the earlier soap opera Dark Shadows was Barnabas Collins , a vampire, and One Life to Live featured an angel named Virgil. Both shows featured characters who traveled to and from the past. In 1995, Days of our Lives featured a storyline in which fan favorite character Marlena Evans
6776-545: The 1990s, with comical characters such as supermarket manager Reg Holdsworth ( Ken Morley ) and his water bed. In 1997, Brian Park took over as producer, with the idea of promoting young characters as opposed to the older cast. On his first day, he cut the characters of Derek Wilton ( Peter Baldwin ), Don Brennan ( Geoffrey Hinsliff ), Percy Sugden ( Bill Waddington ), Bill Webster ( Peter Armitage ), Billy Williams ( Frank Mills ) and Maureen Holdsworth ( Sherrie Hewson ). Thelma Barlow , who played Derek's wife Mavis ,
6930-481: The ITV network was officially broadcast in black and white at this point (though programmes were actually broadcast in colour as early as July that year for colour transmission testing and adjustment) so the episode was seen by most in black and white. Soap opera According to some dictionaries, for something to be adequately described as a "soap opera", it doesn't need to be long-running. , but some authors define
7084-399: The U.S. since the 2000s. As of September 2022, only four daytime soap operas – General Hospital , Days of Our Lives , The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful – are still in production with three airing on two broadcast networks and one on streaming, down from a total of 12 soaps broadcast during the 1990–91 season and a high of 19 in the 1969–70 season. This marks
7238-455: The World Turns and The Edge of Night , both produced by Procter & Gamble Productions , debuted as the first half-hour soap operas on the CBS television network. All soap operas broadcast half-hour episodes by the end of the 1960s. With increased popularity in the 1970s, most soap operas had expanded to an hour in length by the end of the decade ( Another World even expanded to 90 minutes for
7392-782: The beginning of 1991 and went on to become one of the most popular characters of the era until her departure in 1996, followed by a brief comeback four years later. The McDonald family were developed and the fiery relationships between Liz ( Beverly Callard ), Jim ( Charles Lawson ), Steve ( Simon Gregson ) and Andy ( Nicholas Cochrane ) interested viewers. Other newcomers were wheelchair user and pensioner Maud Grimes ( Elizabeth Bradley ), middle-aged cafe owner Roy Cropper ( David Neilson ), young married couple Gary and Judy Mallett ( Ian Mercer and Gaynor Faye ), as well as middle-aged butcher Fred Elliott ( John Savident ) and his son Ashley Peacock ( Steven Arnold ). The amount of slapstick and physical humour in storylines increased during
7546-401: The cast and crew ventured to Jamaica to tape a love consummation storyline between the characters of Garth and Kathy. During the 1980s, perhaps as a reaction to the evening drama series that were gaining high ratings, daytime serials began to incorporate action and adventure storylines, more big-business intrigue, and an increased emphasis on youthful romance. One of the most popular couples
7700-433: The cast and storylines are rotated across the week's episodes so that each cast member will appear in some but not all episodes. UK and Australian soap operas move through storylines at a faster rate than daytime serials, making them closer to U.S. evening soap operas in this regard. American daytime soap operas feature stylistic elements that set them apart from other shows: Soap opera ratings have significantly fallen in
7854-566: The cast payment system and threatened to quit the show to safeguard his principles. The main dispute was between Hancock and Podmore, with Podmore being nicknamed 'The Godfather' by the British media. The basis of Hancock's argument was that different actors were guaranteed different numbers of episode appearances per year, thus some were paid more than others. Actors from the earliest days of the programme, including Pat Phoenix , Doris Speed and Peter Adamson, were guaranteed payment for every one of
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#17327654587328008-412: The centre of the programme for many years, with Gail still being in the show nearly half a century after her first appearance. Comic storylines had been popular in the series in the 1960s but had become sparse during the early 1970s. These were re-introduced by new producer Bill Podmore who joined the series in 1976. He had worked on Granada comedy productions prior to his appointment. In September 1977,
8162-437: The characterisation of some of its current and recent cast based loosely on former characters. Phyllis Pearce ( Jill Summers ), Blanche Hunt ( Maggie Jones ) and Sylvia Goodwin ( Stephanie Cole ) embodied the role of the acid-tongued busybody originally held by Ena, Sally Webster ( Sally Dynevor ) has grown snobbish, like Annie, and a number of the programme's female characters, such as Carla Connor ( Alison King ), mirror
8316-676: The characterisation of the show as a collection of stereotypes. "Rather, remember that Elsie, Ena and others were the first of their kind ever seen on British television. If later characters are stereotypes, it's because they are from the same original mould. It is the hundreds of programmes that have followed which have copied Coronation Street ." In 2024, it was reported that the number of actors appearing in each storyline had been cut in order to reduce costs due to declining viewing figures. Many topical issues have been tackled on Coronation Street, such as rape , including male and marital, historic sexual abuse, underage pregnancy , transgender issues,
8470-454: The daily episode format of its daytime counterparts) and Another Life (a soap that combined standard serial drama with religious overtones), during the 1980s. Fox, the fourth "major network" , carried a short-lived daytime soap Tribes in 1990. Yet, other than this and a couple of pilot attempts, Fox mainly stayed away from daytime soaps, and has not attempted them since their ascension to major-network status in 1994 (it did later attempt
8624-462: The death of Geoff allowed social distancing rules to be relaxed on the condition that the crew members involved formed a social bubble prior to the filming. In late 2021 series producer Iain MacLeod announced that the original plans for the 60th Anniversary would now take place in a special week of episodes in October 2021. On 12 October 2021, it was announced that Coronation Street would partake in
8778-624: The death of actor Bernard Youens after a long illness which had restricted his appearances towards the end. Bet Lynch ( Julie Goodyear ) first appeared in 1966, before becoming a regular in 1970, and went on to become one of the most famous Corrie characters. Bet stood as the central character of the show from 1985 until departing in 1995, often being dubbed as "Queen of the Street" by the media, and indeed herself. The character briefly returned in June 2002 and November 2003. Coronation Street and its characters often rely heavily on archetypes, with
8932-434: The death of actor Jack Howarth at the age of 88. While the press predicted the end of Corrie , H. V. Kershaw declared that "There are no stars in Coronation Street . The show had also gained a new rival on Channel 4 with the launch of Brookside , and BBC was preparing to launch EastEnders , which would first air in February 1985. Writers drew on the show's many archetypes, with established characters stepping into
9086-416: The deaths of Mike Baldwin ( Johnny Briggs ), Vera Duckworth ( Liz Dawn ) and Fred Elliott ( John Savident ). In 2007, Tracy Barlow ( Kate Ford ) murdered Charlie Stubbs and claiming it was self-defence; the audience during this storyline peaked at 13.3 million. At the 2007 British Soap Awards, it won Best Storyline, and Ford was voted Best Actress for her portrayal. In July 2007, after 34 years in
9240-451: The decade, EastEnders regularly obtained higher viewing figures due to its omnibus episodes shown at weekends. The Coronation Street episode broadcast on 2 January 1985 attracted 21.40 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in the show's history based on a single showing. Subsequent episodes would achieve higher figures when the original broadcast and omnibus edition figures were combined. With prime time competition, Corrie
9394-508: The demographic group for which soap opera advertisers pay the most. Those who might watch in workplace breakrooms are not counted, as Nielsen does not track television viewing outside the home. The rise of cable and the Internet has also provided new sources of entertainment during the day. The genre's decline has additionally been attributed to reality television displacing soap operas as TV's dominant form of melodrama. An early term for
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#17327654587329548-442: The early 1970s, nearly all soap operas had transitioned to being taped. As the World Turns and The Edge of Night were the last to make the switch, in 1975. Port Charles used the practice of running 13-week " story arcs ," in which the main events of the arc are played out and wrapped up over the 13 weeks, although some storylines did continue over more than one arc. According to the 2006 Preview issue of Soap Opera Digest , it
9702-504: The entire series. In 2011, Dennis Tanner ( Philip Lowrie ), another character from the first episode, returned to Coronation Street after a 43-year absence. Since 1984, Ken Barlow has been the show's only remaining original character. Emily Bishop ( Eileen Derbyshire ) had appeared in the series since January 1961, when the show was just weeks old, and was the show's longest-serving female character before she departed in January 2016 after 55 years. Rita Tanner ( Barbara Knox ) appeared on
9856-495: The episode that aired on 15 (and 19) March 1989, where Alan is hiding from the police after trying to kill Rita in the previous episode. This rating is sometimes incorrectly credited to the 8 December 1989 tram death episode. In spite of updated sets and production changes, Coronation Street still received criticism. In 1992, chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Council , Lord Rees-Mogg , criticised
10010-470: The exotic appeal of the stereotypes connected to the location. As examples, EastEnders focuses on the tough and grim life in the East End of London; Coronation Street and its characters exhibit the stereotypical characteristic of "northern straight talking". If we want to blend an actor back into a show, there's always a way. You can generally find a way to twist and manipulate something. You rarely see
10164-466: The fact that this episode heralded the departure of immensely-popular character Hilda Ogden ( Jean Alexander ). Between 1986 and 1989, the story of Rita Fairclough 's ( Barbara Knox ) psychological abuse at the hands of Alan Bradley ( Mark Eden ), and then his subsequent death under the wheels of a Blackpool tram in December 1989, was played out. This storyline gave the show its highest combined viewing figure in its history with 26.93 million for
10318-428: The first network daytime serial. The main characteristics that define soap operas are "an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations". Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in
10472-429: The first new daytime soap opera to premiere on a major broadcast network since Passions in 1999. As women increasingly worked outside of the home, daytime television viewing declined. New generations of potential viewers were not raised watching soap operas with their mothers, leaving the shows' long and complex storylines foreign to younger audiences. As viewers age, ratings continue to drop among young adult women,
10626-464: The first soap opera since Generations to feature an African American cast. On April 12, 2024, CBS renewed The Talk for a 15th and final season, with the show concluding in December 2024. Three days later, on April 15, The Gates (now titled " Beyond the Gates ") was greenlit by CBS and is slated to premiere on February 24, 2025, likely to take the time slot of The Talk , meaning it will be
10780-463: The first soap storyline to receive widespread media attention. The feud between Ken Barlow and Mike Baldwin would continue for many years, with Mike even marrying Ken's daughter, Susan ( Wendy Jane Walker ). In 1986, there was a fire at the Rovers Return. The episode that aired on Christmas Day 1987, attracted a combined audience (original and omnibus) of 26.65 million – a figure helped by
10934-530: The first time since 1953 that there have been only four soap operas airing on broadcast television . The Young and the Restless , the highest-rated soap opera from 1988 to the present, had fewer than 5 million daily viewers as of February 2012, a number exceeded by several non-scripted programs such as Judge Judy . Circulations of soap opera magazines have decreased and some have even ceased publication. Soapnet, which largely aired soap opera reruns, began to be phased out in 2012 and fully ceased operations
11088-446: The first time. Early episodes told the story of student Ken Barlow ( William Roache ), who had won a place at university, so found his working-class background—as well as his younger brother David ( Alan Rothwell ) and his parents, Frank ( Frank Pemberton ) and Ida ( Noel Dyson )—something of an embarrassment. The character was one of the few to have experienced much of life outside of Coronation Street. In some ways, this predicts
11242-495: The following year. The Daytime Emmy Awards , which honor soap operas and other daytime shows, moved from prime time network television to smaller cable channels in 2012, then failed to get any TV broadcast at all in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Several of the U.S.'s most established soaps ended between 2009 and 2012. The longest-running drama in television and radio history, Guiding Light , barely reached 2.1 million daily viewers in 2009 and ended on September 18 of that year, after
11396-402: The form demand long scenes, and conversations that a 22-episodes-per-season weekly series might dispense with in half a dozen lines of dialogue may be drawn out, as here, for pages. You spend more time even with the minor characters; the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous. Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of
11550-590: The formidable trio that held court in the snug of local public house, the Rovers Return . The verbal interplay between the three epitomised the serial's North of England humanity and yielded some of the 'richest moments' in the programme. The renown of Martha Longhurst became such that Carol's unpublicised visit to the Ideal Home Exhibition caused a near riot. She was advised to leave the premises for her own safety. After only three years in
11704-670: The gamut of soap operas, from EastEnders to Dallas . In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the US, the characters are frequently attractive, seductive, glamorous and wealthy. Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working-class environments. Many of the soaps produced in those two countries explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. Both UK and Australian soap operas feature comedic elements, often affectionate comic stereotypes such as
11858-413: The gossip or the grumpy old man, presented as a comic foil to the emotional turmoil that surrounds them. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare. UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting "reality" or purport to have a "realistic" style. UK soap operas also frequently foreground their geographic location as a key defining feature of the show while depicting and capitalising on
12012-502: The growth of globalisation . In an episode from 1961, Barlow declares: "You can't go on just thinking about your own street these days. We're living with people on the other side of the world. There's more to worry about than Elsie Tanner ( Pat Phoenix ) and her boyfriends." Roache is the only remaining member of the original cast, which makes him the longest-serving actor in Coronation Street , and in British and global soap history. In March 1961, Coronation Street reached number one in
12166-412: The guidelines set by the British government, and it was confirmed that all actors over 70, as well as those with underlying health conditions, would not be allowed to be on set until it was safe to do so. This included Coronation Street veterans William Roache ( Ken Barlow ) at 88, Barbara Knox ( Rita Tanner ) at 87, Malcolm Hebden ( Norris Cole ) at 80 and Sue Nicholls ( Audrey Roberts ) at 76. It
12320-561: The hands of Aaron Sandford and Paul Foreman 's diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease . New cast members introduced into the soap included Cait Fitton and Claire Sweeney . In June 2024 ITV announced that Coronation Street's third longest-serving cast member, Helen Worth had decided to leave the soap after fifty years of portraying Gail Platt . The character will make her departure in December 2024. Since 1960, Coronation Street has featured many characters whose popularity with viewers and critics has differed greatly. The original cast
12474-435: The late 1960s and into the 1970s. Exterior shots were slowly incorporated into the series The Edge of Night and Dark Shadows . Unlike many earlier serials that were set in fictional towns, The Best of Everything and Ryan's Hope were set in a real-world location, New York City. The first exotic location shoot was made by All My Children , to St. Croix in 1978. Many other soap operas planned lavish storylines after
12628-484: The late 1980s, such as Fox and cable television networks, have largely eschewed soap operas in their daytime schedules, instead running syndicated programming and reruns. No cable television outlet has produced its own daytime serial, although DirecTV 's The 101 Network took over existing serial Passions , continuing production for one season; while TBS and CBN Cable Network respectively aired their own soap operas, The Catlins (a primetime soap that utilized
12782-444: The long-awaited union of Mavis Riley and Derek Wilton ( Peter Baldwin ), after over a decade of on-off romances and a failed marriage attempt in 1984. In 1982, the arrival of Channel 4 , and its edgy new soap opera Brookside , sparked one of the biggest changes for Coronation Street . Unlike Coronation Street , which had a very nostalgic view of working-class life, Brookside brought together working and middle-class families in
12936-601: The low representation of ethnic minorities , and the programme's portrayal of the cosy familiarity of a bygone era, particularly as many comparable neighbours in the real life Greater Manchester area had a significant percentage of black and Asian residents. Some newspapers ran headlines such as " Coronation Street shuts out blacks" ( The Times ), and "'Put colour in t'Street" ( Daily Mirror ). Patrick Stoddart of The Times wrote: "The millions who watch Coronation Street – and who will continue to do so despite Lord Rees-Mogg – know real life when they see it ... in
13090-449: The loyalty of the soap opera fan base and the expansion of several half-hour series into hour-long broadcasts in order to maximise advertising revenues. The article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs. The issue's cover notably featured its first daytime soap stars, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives ,
13244-550: The majority of the 1960s. Preparations were made to film episode 923, to be transmitted Wednesday 29 October 1969, in colour. This installment featured the street's residents on a coach trip to the Lake District . In the end, suitable colour film stock for the cameras could not be found and the footage was shot in black and white. The following episode, transmitted Monday 3 November, was videotaped in colour but featured black and white film inserts and title sequence. Like BBC1 ,
13398-532: The matriarch of The Guiding Light , Bert Bauer, developed uterine cancer (as the actress, Charita Bauer , had been diagnosed with the same illness in real life). The storyline encouraged many women to get pap smears and the CBS mailroom in New York City received a then-record amount of fan mail wishing Bauer (both Bert and Charita) well. Nixon would go on to tell many socially relevant storylines on her soaps One Life to Live and All My Children in
13552-400: The media interest. On 8 December 2000, the show celebrated its 40th anniversary by broadcasting a live, hour-long episode . King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) appeared as himself in an ITV News bulletin report. Earlier in the year, 13-year-old Sarah-Louise Platt ( Tina O'Brien ) had become pregnant and given birth to a baby girl, Bethany , on 4 June. The February episode where Gail
13706-527: The most confident and accomplished soap opera television has ever seen". Black and Asian characters had appeared from time to time over the years, but it was not until 1999 that the show featured its first regular non-white family, the Desai family. New characters Des ( Philip Middlemiss ) and Steph Barnes ( Amelia Bullmore ) moved into one of the new houses in 1990, being dubbed by the media as Yuppies . Raquel Wolstenhulme ( Sarah Lancashire ) first appeared at
13860-439: The most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback romance novels . Soap opera storylines weave intricate, convoluted and sometimes confusing tales of characters who have affairs, meet mysterious strangers and fall in love, and who commit adultery, all of which keeps audiences hooked on the unfolding story. Crimes such as kidnapping, assault (sometimes sexual), and even murder may go unpunished if
14014-410: The most radical changes since its launch. By May 1984, William Roache stood as the only original cast member , after the departures of Violet Carson ( Ena Sharples ) in 1980, Doris Speed ( Annie Walker ) in 1983, and both Pat Phoenix ( Elsie Tanner ) and Jack Howarth ( Albert Tatlock ) in 1984. Albert Tatlock's departure came when his character's off screen death was announced several months after
14168-695: The new Coronation Street , and sections of the media voiced their disapproval. Having received criticism of being too out of touch, Corrie now struggled to emulate the more modern Brookside and EastEnders . In the Daily Mirror , Victor Lewis-Smith wrote: "Apparently it doesn't matter that this is a first-class soap opera, superbly scripted and flawlessly performed by a seasoned repertory company." One of Coronation Street ' s best known storylines took place in March/April 1998, with Deirdre Rachid ( Anne Kirkbride ) being wrongfully imprisoned after
14322-969: The perennial losers such as Stan and Hilda, Jack and Vera, Les Battersby ( Bruce Jones ), Beth Tinker ( Lisa George ) and Kirk Sutherland ( Andrew Whyment ). Villains are also common character types, such as Tracy Barlow ( Kate Ford ), Alan Bradley ( Mark Eden ), Jenny Bradley ( Sally Ann Matthews ), Rob Donovan ( Marc Baylis ), Frank Foster ( Andrew Lancel ), Tony Gordon ( Gray O'Brien ), Caz Hammond ( Rhea Bailey ), Richard Hillman ( Brian Capron ), Greg Kelly ( Stephen Billington ), Will Chatterton ( Leon Ockenden ), Nathan Curtis ( Christopher Harper ), Callum Logan (Sean Ward), Karl Munro ( John Michie ), Pat Phelan ( Connor McIntyre ), David Platt ( Jack P. Shepherd ), Maya Sharma ( Sasha Behar ), Kirsty Soames ( Natalie Gumede ), John Stape ( Graeme Hawley ), Geoff Metcalfe ( Ian Bartholomew ) and Gary Windass ( Mikey North ). The show's former archivist and scriptwriter Daran Little disagreed with
14476-421: The perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story. Australian and UK soap operas also feature a significant proportion of romance storylines. In Russia, most popular serials explore the "romantic quality" of criminal and/or oligarch life. In soap opera storylines, previously unknown children, siblings and twins (including the evil variety ) of established characters often emerge to upset and reinvigorate
14630-494: The problem Battersby family moved into No.5. Storylines focussed on tackling 'issues', such as drug dealers, eco-warriors, religious cults, and a transsexual woman. Park quit in 1998, after deciding that he had done what he intended to do; he maintained that his biggest achievement was the introduction of Hayley Patterson ( Julie Hesmondhalgh ), the first transgender character in a British soap. The character married Roy Cropper soon after her arrival. Some viewers were alienated by
14784-548: The programme abruptly. Brian Tilsley's death was broadcast on 15 February 1989. After the breakdown of his marriage to Gail, Brian started spending his evenings going to discos and meeting up with various women. He tried to protect a young lady from a group of thugs outside a nightclub, but was stabbed in the stomach. He died as a result of his injuries. The stabbing brought massive complaints from viewers and Mary Whitehouse delivered an angry sermon about television violence. Between 1980 and 1989, Coronation Street underwent some of
14938-500: The programme, while events from Holby City were also referenced. A similar clip featuring Maria Connor ( Samia Longchambon ) was also featured on EastEnders . On 24 January 2022, ITV announced that as part of an overhaul of their evening programming, Coronation Street will permanently air as three 60-minute episodes per week from March 2022 onwards. 2023 saw more hard-hitting storylines such as: Daisy Midgeley 's stalker which culminated into an acid attack, Amy Barlow 's rape at
15092-411: The programs ran out of new episodes to broadcast; Days of Our Lives , which produces its episodes roughly eight months ahead of their initial broadcast, did not resort to airing older episodes during this time as it had a larger first-run episode backlog.) Early episodes of Dark Shadows were rerun on PBS member stations in the early 1970s after the show's cancellation, and the entire series (except for
15246-601: The prosperous Brooks family with four daughters, and the working-class Foster family of a single working mother with three children. Its storylines explored realistic problems including cancer, mental illness, poverty, and infidelity. In contrast, Dark Shadows (1966–1971), Port Charles (1997–2003) and Passions (1999–2008) featured supernatural characters and dealt with fantasy and horror storylines. Their characters included vampires, witches, ghosts, goblins, and angels. The American soap opera Guiding Light (originally titled The Guiding Light until 1975) started as
15400-403: The reality TV genre was docu-soap . A precursor to reality TV, the televised 1994–95 O. J. Simpson murder case , both preempted and competed with an entire season of soaps, transforming viewing habits and leaving soap operas with 10 percent fewer viewers after the trial ended. Lynne Carol Josephine Caroline Gertrude Mary Faith Harber (29 June 1914 – 30 June 1990), known by
15554-1059: The right to die, racism , coercive control , cancer , homosexuality , domestic abuse , child grooming , and suicide , among others. Key storylines include: Mike and Deirdre 's affair (1983), the death of Brian Tilsley (1989), Alan Bradley 's abuse of Rita (1989), Kevin and Natalie 's affair (1997), Deirdre is wrongfully jailed for fraud (1998), Sarah Platt 's underage pregnancy (2000), Toyah 's rape (2001), Alma 's cancer (2001), Richard Hillman 's serial killer storyline (2002–2003), Peter Barlow 's bigamy (2003), Kevin and Molly 's affair (2009), Kirsty 's abuse of Tyrone (2012), Hayley 's cancer (2013), Faye 's underage pregnancy (2015), Bethany 's grooming (2017), David 's rape (2018), Aidan 's suicide (2018), Sinead 's diagnosis with cervical cancer (2019), Yasmeen 's abuse (2020), Daisy 's stalking hell (2023), Paul 's MND (2023), Liam 's bullying and suicidal thoughts (2023), and Lauren 's disappearance and possible murder (2024). Between 9 December 1960 and 3 March 1961, Coronation Street
15708-510: The role of Vera Duckworth , Liz Dawn left the show due to ill health. After conversation between Dawn and producers Kieran Roberts and Steve Frost , the decision was made to kill Vera off. Tina O'Brien revealed in the British press on 4 April 2007 that she would be leaving Coronation Street later in the year. Sarah-Louise, who was involved in some of the decade's most controversial stories, left in December 2007 with her daughter, Bethany. In 2008, Michelle learning that Ryan ( Ben Thompson )
15862-522: The roles left by the original cast. Phyllis Pearce ( Jill Summers ) was hailed as the new Ena Sharples in 1982, the Duckworths moved into No.9 in 1983 and slipped into the role once held by the Ogdens, while Percy Sugden ( Bill Waddington ) appeared in 1983 and took over the grumpy war veteran role from Albert Tatlock. The question of who would take over the Rovers Return after Annie Walker's 1983 exit
16016-663: The runtime of which was extended to 60 minutes. Producers stated that the episode would contain "a nostalgic trip down memory lane" and "a nod to its own past". A month later, ITV announced that production on the soap would have to be suspended, as the United Kingdom was put into a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television ). After an 11-week intermission for all cast and crew members, filming resumed in June 2020. The episodes would feature social distancing to adhere to
16170-548: The series began airing six times a week in 2017. The programme was conceived by scriptwriter Tony Warren . Warren's initial proposal was rejected by the station's founder Sidney Bernstein , but he was persuaded by producer Harry Elton to produce the programme for 13 pilot episodes. The show has since become a significant part of British culture . Coronation Street is currently produced by Granada's successor, ITV Studios , at MediaCityUK and shown in all ITV regions, as well as internationally. In 2010, upon its 50th anniversary,
16324-531: The series was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's longest-running television soap opera. Initially influenced by the conventions of kitchen-sink realism , Coronation Street is noted for its depiction of a down-to-earth, working-class community, combined with light-hearted humour and strong characters. The show currently averages around five million viewers per episode. The show premiered its 10,000th episode on 7 February 2020, and celebrated its 60th anniversary later that year. The first episode
16478-494: The series, the character of Martha Longhurst was axed by a new producer, who assumed that Carol would be likely to find other acting jobs. Carol was deeply shocked to read in the newspaper that the days of her character were now numbered. Martha died quietly of a heart attack in the snug (one of the three bars in the Rovers, the others being the public and the select) of the public house in May 1964. The subsequent burial took place in
16632-426: The set of relationships examined by the series. Unexpected calamities disrupt weddings, childbirths, and other major life events with unusual frequency. As in comic books – another popular form of linear storytelling pioneered in the US during the 20th century – a character's death is not guaranteed to be permanent . On The Bold and the Beautiful , Taylor Hayes ( Hunter Tylo ) was shown to flatline and have
16786-548: The shame indecent assault allegations had brought onto Granada and the Coronation Street brand. Len Fairclough was killed off-screen in a motorway crash on 7 December 1983. To demonise the character, it was revealed that he had been returning home from an affair, cheating on his wife Rita ( Barbara Knox ). Adamson celebrated the character's death by delivering an obituary on TV-am dressed as an undertaker . During 1988, actor Christopher Quinten , who had played Brian Tilsley since 27 December 1978, told bosses at Granada that he
16940-428: The show for one episode in December 1964, before returning as a full-time cast member in January 1972. She is currently the second longest-serving original cast member on the show. Roache and Knox are also the two oldest-working cast members on the soap at 92 and 90 years-old respectively. Stan and Hilda Ogden were introduced in 1964, with Hilda becoming one of the most famous British soap opera characters of all time. In
17094-425: The show was later renewed through September 2021. In 2022, NBC announced that Days of Our Lives would be moved exclusively to its streaming service, Peacock , making NBC the first of the big three networks not to air any daytime soap operas. In March 2024, CBS Studios , NAACP Venture , in partnership with P&G Studios announced that a new soap opera for CBS titled The Gates is in development and will be
17248-1535: The show's debut in January 1970 until it ended its network television run on ABC on September 23, 2011. Erika Slezak played Victoria Lord #3 on One Life to Live from 1971 until the show ended its network television run on ABC on January 13, 2012, and resumed the role in its short-lived online revival on April 29, 2013. Other actors have played several characters on different shows. Millette Alexander , Bernard Barrow , Doris Belack , David Canary , Judith Chapman , Keith Charles , Jordan Charney , Joan Copeland , Nicolas Coster , Jacqueline Courtney , Augusta Dabney , Louis Edmonds , Don Hastings , Larry Haines , Vincent Irizarry , Lenore Kasdorf , Teri Keane , Lois Kibbee , John Loprieno , Lori March , Maeve McGuire , Robert Mili , James Mitchell , Lee Patterson , Christopher Pennock , Antony Ponzini , William Prince , Rosemary Prinz , Louise Shaffer , Mary Stuart , Richard Thomas , Diana van der Vlis , Mary K. Wells , Lesley Woods and Michael Zaslow , among many others, have all played multiple soap roles. For several decades, most daytime soap operas concentrated on family and marital discord, legal drama and romance. The action rarely left interior settings, and many shows were set in fictional, medium-sized Midwestern towns. Social issue storylines were typically verboten when soaps were starting, due to heavy network-imposed censorship at that time, but writer and producer Agnes Nixon introduced these storylines slowly but surely, first in 1962 when
17402-501: The shows were aimed at – and consumed by – a predominantly female audience. Clara, Lu, 'n Em would become the first network radio serial of the type when it aired on the NBC Blue Network at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on January 27, 1931. Although it did not make the move until February 15, 1932, Clara, Lu 'n Em would become the first network serial of the type to move to a weekday daily timeslot, and so also became
17556-613: The stage name Lynne Carol , was a Welsh born actress , primarily in TV series and telemovies. She was best known for playing busybody Martha Longhurst in the soap opera Coronation Street from the second episode in 1960 until the character was killed off in 1964. A descendant of six generations of actors, Lynne Carol (also known as Josephine Palmer ) was born in Monmouthshire , south east Wales , where her actor parents Charles Harber and Mina Harber (née McKinnon) were touring in
17710-429: The start of a new yearly broadcast. Evening soap operas and those that air at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode and present all storylines. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger. In 1976, Time magazine described American daytime television as "TV's richest market", noting
17864-471: The stories are similar to what happened to them in real life, or two, thank goodness that isn't me. Many long-running US soap operas established particular environments for their stories. The Doctors and General Hospital , in the beginning, told stories almost exclusively from inside the confines of a hospital. As the World Turns dealt heavily with Chris Hughes' law practice and the travails of his wife Nancy who, tired of being "the loyal housewife" in
18018-532: The storyline as a young radical, reflecting the youth of 1960s Britain, where figures like the Beatles , the Rolling Stones and the model Twiggy were to reshape the concept of youthful rebellion. Though the rest of the original Barlow family were killed off before the end of the 1970s, Ken, who for 27 years was the only character from the first episode remaining, has remained the constant link throughout
18172-420: The storyline was not about violence, but that it aimed to show the desolation and loss felt by Ernest's widow, Emily. Coronation Street had little competition within its prime-time slot, and some critics suggested that the programme had grown complacent, moving away from socially viable storylines, and again presenting a dated view of working-class life. Peter Adamson, who had played Len Fairclough since 1961,
18326-551: The storyline, and when Lynne Carol took a private trip to the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition in London, she was mobbed by fans and asked to leave on the grounds of public safety. Many, including Coronation Street writer H.V. Kershaw, saw the killing of Martha as a desperate move to boost viewer ratings. By 1968, critics were suggesting that the programme no longer reflected life in 1960s Britain,
18480-548: The street for two weeks before returning with the intent of killing himself as well as Gail, her children Sarah and David ( Jack P. Shepherd ), and granddaughter Bethany, before driving them into a canal – though the Platt family survived whilst Richard drowned. This came just months after Sarah had survived serious injuries after being passenger in a stolen car which crashed. The storyline received wide press attention, and viewing figures peaked at 19.4 million, with Hillman dubbed
18634-538: The success of the All My Children shoot. Soap operas Another World and Guiding Light both went to St. Croix in 1980, the former show culminating a long-running storyline between popular characters Mac, Rachel and Janice, and the latter to serve as an exotic setting for Alan Spaulding and Rita Bauer 's torrid affair. Search for Tomorrow taped for two weeks in Hong Kong in 1981. Later that year, some of
18788-685: The supernatural soap opera, Dark Shadows , which did receive an essentially complete release on both VHS and DVD; the single lost episode #1219 is reconstructed by means of an off-the-air audio recording, still images, and recap material from adjacent episodes). Soap opera performers in the United States are typically divided into two main groups: primary characters (sometimes referred to as "contract players" – as their portrayers signed contracts of employment – or leading characters) and secondary characters (sometimes referred to as recurring characters). These two groups of characters make up
18942-584: The time. With the resultant budget cuts, soap operas were no longer able to go on expensive location shoots overseas as they were able to do in the 1980s. During that decade, soap operas increasingly focused on younger characters and social issues , such as Erica Kane 's drug addiction on All My Children , the re-emergence of Viki Lord 's dissociative identity disorder on One Life to Live , and Stuart Chandler dealing with his wife Cindy dying of AIDS on All My Children . Other social issues included cancer , rape , abortion and racism . Several shows during
19096-420: The vast majority of the people who appear on any given soap. There are also characters who appear only for a short time as dictated by a specific storyline, and even characters who may only get a first name and no fleshed-out character history with little dialogue (these are sometimes referred to as "under-5s" since they receive under five lines of dialogue in each episode). Due to the longevity of these shows, it
19250-526: The vulnerability of Elsie and Bet. Other recurring archetypes include the war veteran such as Albert Tatlock ( Jack Howarth ), Percy Sugden ( Bill Waddington ) and Gary Windass ( Mikey North ), the bumbling retail manager like Leonard Swindley ( Arthur Lowe ), Reg Holdsworth ( Ken Morley ), Norris Cole ( Malcolm Hebden ), quick-tempered, tough tradesmen like Len Fairclough ( Peter Adamson ), Jim McDonald ( Charles Lawson ), Tommy Harris ( Thomas Craig ) and Owen Armstrong ( Ian Puleston-Davies ), and
19404-516: The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana two days later. In the 1980s relationships were cemented between established characters: Alf Roberts ( Bryan Mosley ) married Audrey Potter ( Sue Nicholls ) in 1985; Kevin Webster ( Michael Le Vell ) married Sally Seddon ( Sally Whittaker ) in 1986; Bet Lynch married Alec Gilroy ( Roy Barraclough ) in 1987; and 1988 saw the marriages of widowed Ivy Tilsley to Don Brennan ( Geoffrey Hinsliff ), and
19558-416: The word in a way that excludes short-running serial dramas from their definition of "soap opera". BBC Radio 's The Archers , first broadcast in 1950, is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The longest-running existing television soap is Coronation Street , which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960. According to Albert Moran, one of the defining features that make a television program
19712-502: The world from being frozen, brought a mobster down by finding his black book in a left-handed boy statue, and helped a princess find her Aztec treasure in Mexico . Other soap operas attempted similar adventure storylines, often featuring footage shot on location – frequently in exotic locales. During the 1990s, the mob, action and adventure stories fell out of favor with producers, due to generally declining ratings for daytime soap operas at
19866-614: The writing team to quickly develop characters who had previously stood in the background. The roles of mostly younger characters including Bet Lynch ( Julie Goodyear ), Deirdre Hunt ( Anne Kirkbride ), Rita Littlewood ( Barbara Knox ), Mavis Riley ( Thelma Barlow ) and Ivy Tyldesley ( Lynne Perrie ) were built up between 1972 and 1973 (with Perrie's character being renamed to the better-known "Tilsley"), and characters such as Gail Potter ( Helen Worth ), Blanche Hunt ( Patricia Cutts / Maggie Jones ), and Vera Duckworth ( Liz Dawn ) first appearing in 1974. These characters would remain at
20020-482: The year's episodes, regardless of whether or not they actually appeared. Podmore was not willing to change what he called a 'complex and well-established system', leading Hancock to stand by his principles and resign. The problem now shifted, and writers had to write Ernie out but save his wife Emily ( Eileen Derbyshire ). The decision was made for Ernest to be killed off in a bungled robbery at Mike Baldwin 's ( Johnny Briggs ) factory, where he worked in payroll. Ernest
20174-524: Was Luke Spencer and Laura Webber on General Hospital . Luke and Laura helped to attract both male and female fans. Even actress Elizabeth Taylor was a fan and at her own request was given a guest role in Luke and Laura's wedding episode. Luke and Laura's popularity led to other soap producers striving to reproduce this success by attempting to create supercouples of their own. With increasingly bizarre action storylines coming into vogue, Luke and Laura saved
20328-423: Was about to leave her for lover Molly. The show began broadcasting in high-definition in May 2010, and on 17 September that year, Coronation Street entered Guinness World Records as the world's longest-running television soap opera after the American soap opera As the World Turns concluded. William Roache was listed as the world's longest-running soap actor. Coronation Street 's 50th anniversary week
20482-451: Was abruptly moved to another Granada department and Carolyn Reynolds took over. In 2002, Kieran Roberts was appointed as producer and aimed to re-introduce "gentle storylines and humour", after deciding that the Street should not try to compete with other soaps. In July 2002, Gail married Richard Hillman ( Brian Capron ), a recently introduced financial advisor who had already left Duggie Ferguson ( John Bowe ) to die after he fell down
20636-418: Was again seen as being old fashioned, with the introduction of the 'normal' Clayton family in 1985 being a failure with viewers, being written out the following year. Between 1988 and 1989, many aspects of the show were modernised by new producer David Liddiment . A new exterior set had been built in 1982, and in 1989 it was redeveloped to include new houses and shops. Production techniques were also changed with
20790-690: Was aired on 9 December 1960 at 7 pm, and was not initially a critical success; Daily Mirror columnist Ken Irwin predicted the series would only last three weeks. Granada Television had commissioned only 13 episodes, and some inside the company doubted the show would last beyond its planned production run. Despite the criticism, viewers were immediately drawn into the serial, won over by Coronation Street ' s ordinary characters. The programme also made use of Northern English language and dialect ; affectionate local terms like "eh, chuck?", "nowt" ( / n aʊ t / , from nought , meaning nothing ), and "by 'eck!" became widely heard on British television for
20944-454: Was angered by the firing of her co-star and resigned. The production team lost some of its key writers when Barry Hill, Adele Rose and Julian Roach all resigned as well. In line with Park's suggestion, younger characters were introduced during 1997 and 1998. A teenage Nick Tilsley was recast, played by Adam Rickitt following the departure of original actor Warren Jackson , single mother Zoe Tattersall ( Joanne Froggatt ) first appeared, and
21098-416: Was answered in 1985 when Bet Lynch (who also mirrored the vulnerability and strength of Elsie Tanner) was installed as landlady. In 1983, Shirley Armitage (Lisa Lewis) became the first major black character in her role as machinist at Baldwin's Casuals. Ken Barlow married Deirdre Langton ( Anne Kirkbride ) on 27 July 1981. The episode was watched by over 15 million viewers – more ITV viewers than
21252-408: Was briefly discussed that all ABC shows might do telenovela arcs, but this was rejected. Though U.S. daytime soap operas are not generally rerun by their networks, occasionally they are rebroadcast elsewhere; CBS and ABC have made exceptions to this, airing older episodes (either those aired earlier in the current season or those aired years prior) on major holidays when special event programming
21406-523: Was broadcast twice weekly, on Wednesday and Friday. During this period, the Friday episode was broadcast live, with the Wednesday episode being pre-recorded 15 minutes later. When the programme went fully networked on 6 March 1961, broadcast days changed to Monday and Wednesday. The last regular episode to be shown live was broadcast on 3 February 1961. The series was transmitted in black and white for
21560-404: Was celebrated with seven episodes, plus a special one-hour live episode, broadcast from 6–10 December. The episodes averaged 14 million viewers, a 52.1% share of the audience. The anniversary was also publicised with ITV specials and news broadcasts. In the storyline, Nick Tilsley and Leanne Battersby 's bar — The Joinery — exploded during Peter Barlow 's stag party. As a result, the viaduct
21714-403: Was created by Tony Warren, with the characters of Ena Sharples ( Violet Carson ), Elsie Tanner ( Pat Phoenix ) and Annie Walker ( Doris Speed ) as central figures. These three women remained with the show for at least 20 years, and became archetypes of British soap opera, often being emulated by other serials. Ena was the street's busybody, battle-axe and self-proclaimed moral voice. Elsie
21868-509: Was criticised by some for its outdated portrayal of the urban working class, and its representation of a community that was a nostalgic fantasy. After the first episode in 1960, the Daily Mirror printed: "The programme is doomed from the outset ... For there is little reality in this new serial, which apparently, we have to suffer twice a week." In 1964, Coronation Street appointed a new producer, Tim Aspinall. Aspinall decided on
22022-537: Was deemed safe for Maureen Lipman ( Evelyn Plummer ) and David Neilson ( Roy Cropper ) to continue. By December all cast members had returned to set and on Wednesday 9 December 2020, the soap celebrated its 60th anniversary, with original plans for the episode forced to change due to COVID-19 guidelines. The anniversary week saw the conclusion of a long-running coercive control storyline that began in May 2019, with Geoff Metcalfe ( Ian Bartholomew ) abusing Yasmeen Nazir ( Shelley King ). The showdown, which resulted in
22176-452: Was destroyed, sending a Metrolink tram careering onto the street, destroying D&S Alahan's Corner Shop and The Kabin . Two characters, Ashley Peacock ( Steven Arnold ) and Molly Dobbs ( Vicky Binns ), along with an unknown taxi driver, were killed as a result of the disaster. Rita Sullivan ( Barbara Knox ) survived, despite being trapped under the rubble of her destroyed shop. Fiz Stape ( Jennie McAlpine ) prematurely gave birth to
22330-411: Was frequently a key player in their storylines. Days of Our Lives initially focused on Dr. Tom Horton and his steadfast wife Alice. The show later branched out to focus more on their five children. The Edge of Night featured as its central character Mike Karr, a police detective (later an attorney), and largely dealt with organized crime. The Young and the Restless first focused on two families,
22484-479: Was going to move to the United States to marry his then-fiancée, American talk show host Leeza Gibbons and to build an acting career in Los Angeles . In announcing his resignation, Quinten tried to ensure that his role would be left open for him to return in the event that his stint in America failed. At the time, his character was married to Gail and the story conference called to write Brian out struggled to find
22638-468: Was impossible. Though all serials have long switched to being taped, extensive post-production work and multiple takes, while possible, are not feasible due to the tight taping schedules and low budgets. The first daytime TV soap opera in the United States was These Are My Children in 1949, though earlier melodramas had aired in the evenings as once-a-week programs. Soap operas quickly became
22792-487: Was killed by a single gunshot to the stomach on 11 January 1978. It was the first time that violence on such a scale had been shown on Coronation Street and after the episode was aired, Granada's switchboard was jammed by angry viewers. Letters of complaint arrived in their hundreds, and the Lobby Against TV Violence fiercely objected Granada's decision to broadcast the episode. Granada stated that
22946-470: Was not her biological son, having been accidentally swapped at birth with Alex Neeson ( Dario Coates ). Carla Connor ( Alison King ) turned to Liam for comfort and developed feelings for him. In spite of knowing about her feelings, Liam married Maria Sutherland ( Samia Longchambon ). Maria and Liam's baby son was stillborn in April, and during an estrangement from Maria upon the death of their baby, Liam had
23100-645: Was possessed by the devil, and in 1998, Guiding Light featured a cloning storyline involving legacy character Reva Shayne . Modern U.S. daytime soap operas largely stay true to the original soap opera format. The duration and format of storylines and the visual grammar employed by U.S. daytime serials set them apart from soap operas in other countries and from evening soap operas. Stylistically, UK and Australian soap operas, which are usually produced for early evening timeslots, fall somewhere in between U.S. daytime and evening soap operas. Similar to U.S. daytime soap operas, UK and Australian serials are shot on videotape, and
23254-796: Was revealed that Eileen Grimshaw 's ( Sue Cleaver ) father, Colin ( Edward de Souza ) – the son of Elsie Tanner 's ( Pat Phoenix ) cousin Arnley – had slept with Eileen's old classmate, Paula Carp ( Sharon Duce ) while she was still at school, and that Paula's daughter Julie ( Katy Cavanagh ) was in fact also Colin's daughter. Other stories in 2009 included Maria giving birth to Liam's son and her subsequent relationship with Liam's killer Tony, Steve McDonald 's ( Simon Gregson ) marriage to Becky Granger ( Katherine Kelly ) and Kevin Webster 's ( Michael Le Vell ) affair with Molly Dobbs ( Vicky Binns ). On Christmas Day 2009, Sally Webster ( Sally Dynevor ) told husband Kevin that she had breast cancer, just as he
23408-503: Was sacked in 1983 for breach of contract . He had been warned by Granada Television for writing unauthorised newspaper articles criticising the show and cast. Coronation Street producer Podmore sacked Adamson when it was revealed he had sold his memoirs after the previous warning. The sacking coincided with allegations of Adamson having indecently assaulted two young girls. In April 1983, a newspaper reported that Adamson had been arrested for indecently assaulting two eight-year-old girls at
23562-541: Was the tart with a heart , who was constantly hurt by men in the search for true love. Annie Walker, landlady of the Rovers Return Inn , had delusions of grandeur and saw herself as better than the other residents. Coronation Street became known for the portrayal of strong female characters, including original cast characters like Ena, Annie and Elsie, and later Hilda Ogden ( Jean Alexander ), who first appeared in 1964; all four became household names during
23716-503: Was told of her daughter's pregnancy was watched by 15 million viewers. From 1999 to 2001, issue-led storylines were introduced such as Toyah Battersby 's ( Georgia Taylor ) rape, Roy and Hayley Cropper ( David Neilson and Julie Hesmondhalgh ) abducting their foster child , Sarah Platt's Internet chat room abduction and Alma Halliwell 's ( Amanda Barrie ) death from cervical cancer . Such storylines were unpopular with viewers, ratings started to drop and in October 2001, Macnaught
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