There are quite a few production companies which have produced popular soaps, for example Mersey TV Productions produce Hollyoaks and ITV Productions produce Coronation Street. The four most popular soaps are Coronation Street, Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale. I will therefore look into these four soaps in more detail. Coronation Street is generally the most watched show on British Television and along with Eastenders, they are both also known as the "flagship" soaps as they are the highest rating programmes for ITV and the BBC.
Coronation Street
This soap is set in Manchester and created by Tony Warren. It is the most watched soap opera and has been on British television the longest compared to other soaps. When it was first launched in 1960, the soap was shown twice a week on Wednesday and Friday evenings. It is now broadcast in five weekly instalments. There is still one character that remains from the original episode, Ken Barlow. This soap became known for its portrayal of strong female characters. The show is consistently rated as either one of or the most watched television program on British television, currently out rating all other soaps in both overnight and official viewing figures. Its main rival is Eastenders. For 48 years, Coronation Street has remained at the centre of ITV’s prime time schedule. The soap is also shown in many countries worldwide such as Republic of Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Belgium and others.
The offical Coronation Street website
http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronationstreet/
Eastenders
Eastenders is also a long running popular soap. It was first broadcasted in the UK on BBC one in February 1985. It’s currently ranked as one father most watched shows in the UK. The storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the population living in the fictional London borough of Walford in East London. The focus of the soap is based around the residents living in Albert Square. The series was originally screened as two half hour episodes per week, however now four episodes are broadcast each week and an omnibus edition screens on Sunday afternoons. Within eight months of its launch, it reached the number one spot in the ratings as has consistently remained among the top-rated TV programmes in Britain. The soap was built around the theme of relationships and strong families which each character having a huge place and importance in the society. The first central family was the Beale and Fowler clan. The Watts and Mitchell family have also been important to many Eastenders storylines. Characters such as Peggy Mitchell and Mo Harris are popular for lots of different reasons. Eastenders has covered many different issues such as adoption, abortion, alcoholism, euthanasia, abuse, rape, sexism and many more. On Christmas Day 2008 Eastenders attracted 11.5 million viewers, when Sean Slater discovered he was not the father of Amy Slater. It was the most watched soap opera on Christmas Day.
The offical Eastenders website.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond. The soap is set in and around the fictional Chester suburb of Hollyoaks and is centered around a local college called Hollyoaks Community College; the majority of the characters are in their late teens or early twenties. Since 1995, the cast has expanded from just seven major characters to approximately 50 cast members. The soap is currently produced by Lucy Allan, who replaced Bryan Kirkwood in 2009. The show began in 1995 and is produced by Lime Pictures; it is filmed mainly at studios in Liverpool. The show currently broadcasts at 18:30 each weekday on Channel 4, with an omnibus edition on Sunday morning; E4 airs a 'First Look' feature, in which viewers are able to watch the next episode to be shown on Channel 4 the following day. In addition, E4 also shows the omnibus on Saturday and daily repeats each weekday at 16.30. Hollyoaks is a soap which is centered on teenagers, students and young-adults however there has always been families alike other soaps such as the McQueen and Ashworth families. Hollyoaks is always regarded as a “teen soap.” In 2008, Gemma Merna who plays the characters of Carmel stated that she felt the show was underrated; “We are completely underrated as a show, which is so frustrating. People just think we are gorgeous models who have nothing else to offer. But the truth is we have some seriously talented actors and we're fed up with being the little sister to Corrie, Eastenders and Emmerdale. We're fighters and we're so passionate about what we do. We have the balls and just go for it. And I think we should get credit for that!" Hollyoaks has a lot of stereotypical characters which is a key part of typical British soap operas; troubled teens such as Ste Hay and Barry Newton are featured as are villains such as Warren Fox and Niall Rafferty. Vixens like Cindy Cunningham, businessman like Tony Hutchinson and sweethearts like Carmel Valentine and Hannah Ashworth. On 26 February 2007, the programme launched a revamped title sequence. This new sequence regularly undergoes minor changes - usually caused by characters leaving or joining the programme. Whilst the majority of other soaps do not use songs, Hollyoaks is the only British soap which does. Many episodes usually begin with a recent chart song and other songs are used during the show and sometimes at the end of the first part before the advert. These songs are used as transitions in between scenes or as part of sequences. Hollyoaks occasionally broadcasts late-night spin-off editions of the main show, usually due to them containing adult themes and controversial plots. Several DVD specials have also been released.
The offical Hollyoaks website http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/H/hollyoaks/
Emmerdale
From 1989, Emmerdale was more popularly known as Emmerdale Farm. This is a popular and critically acclaimed soap which has been airing on ITV since 1972. It’s set in the fictional village of Emmerdale which until 1994 was known as Beckindale in West Yorkshire. Producers and creators are Kevin Laffan, Steve Frost and Gavin Blyth since 2009. The series is broadcast by Yorkshire Television on the ITV network, the first episode was aired on 16th October 1972. The series was first broadcast over the Christmas holiday period in 1988.
Emmerdale is shown four times a week at 7pm and on a Thursday at 8pm. Each episode lasts around 30 minutes which includes commercials. To begin with, Emmerdale farm was very similar to the BBC radio soap opera “The Archers" which was a soap that also focused on family life around a farm.
The fist ever episode opened with the funeral of Jacob Sugden on 16th October 1972. To begin with, the show focused around the farm and the Sugden family who lived and ran the farm. Up until 1993, Emmerdale was ignored a lot by the press and didn’t have as many viewers as other soaps such as Hollyoaks and Coronation Street. However when they introduced a plan crash storyline this all changed; Emmerdale was shot into the public eye and received the highest ever viewing figures of 18 million. Other major storylines included the kidnap of Tom King in 2006 which then led to the murder of Tom King at Christmas 2006. On average, Emmerdale attracts 6-12 million viewers. This soap is also widely watched overseas in countries such as Ireland, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand, Australia and Romania.
The Emmerdale official website
