How very dare you!
Some of my favourite moments in Soap Land in recent times, include the return of Cindy Beale (and her mother-in-law Kathy) from the Dead in EastEnders, along with 'The Six' storyline in the same soap. Now this here is my first point as to why Soap Opera's are still relevant and still deserve to be part of our household furniture- they give leading ladies of all ages major roles.
They do not confine women of a certain age to a stereotype, they present them as wild, full of life and exciting. Thus, giving them a voice when many execs out there are trying to shoe-horn them into One-dimensional roles. Take Cindy Beale (yes I am a massive Michelle Collins stan and what about it!), she is fearless, a tart with a heart, but crucially an older woman not confined to a kitchen or laundrette but instead having an affair with her (sort of) ex-stepson and slaying past everyone in her way.
Not that I am advocating anyone to have an affair with their ex-husband's long-lost relatives, but that is besides the point, the point being that soap operas give the older actor's a voice, a chance to demonstrate their experience and boy do they always deliver. On the topic of affairs and murders ('The Six' you will always be famous) soap's bring fun and much needed escape.
YES we know soaps are often far-fetched, from bodies being buried under patios in Brookside and Corrie, to doomed marriages taking place all over the shop in Hollyoaks and Emmerdale and well pretty much all of them to be honest but they provide escapism. They are fun at times mainly because they make us feel better about our own lives.
Every Christmas without fail someone will die on a soap, cry at the altar or give someone a crafty right hook and that certainly always makes me feel better about eating too many roasties or buying someone the wrong dress size.
Finally, despite the camp drama, over-the-top plot lines (and cast members that are easy on the eye), soaps also shine the light on real life issues. Whether it be Sinead and Lola's cancer battles in Coronation Street and EastEnders respectively or Belle's domestic abuse storyline in Emmerdale or John Paul's rape in Hollyoaks, soap opera's give months and months of time and space to raise awareness of real life story's, something not many TV drama's can do.
So, the point of this article was not to prove that I am the soap's' biggest fan even though YES I AM! But it was to prove that they are still relevant, exciting and much needed in today's society. So, I certainly won't be calling for a black cab to be called on them anytime soon.
