Are there too many soaps on BBC at the moment?*

Personally I feel that the BBC is relying on Soaps too much within its schedule.

Eastenders has become tiresome and needs to be blown apart and rebuilt from scratch. There are no interesting storylines or characters and as a viewer I find it very cumbersome and boring. The same few storylines are being recycled year on year and has lost its way. Bringing Dirty Den back was a challenge and I think they pulled it off but I just feel we've seen the 'best years' of the soap.

BBC Three repeat Eastenders and there are many Eastenders Revealed type programmes filling the BBC Three schedule aswell.

Neighbours clutters up the afternoon schedule TWICE and also has lost its way a bit. Theres even another soap called Doctors which lacks any high production values.

But I dont feel the BBC has soap overkill - ITV hasnt got soap overkill either.

Er - OK...

But you're not saying that they have too many soaps - just that you don't like the ones they do have.


The viewing figures would suggest otherwise!

If I were to name a channel that has too many soaps ITV1 would be first on my list!

Eastenders is the best....the only one I watch and it's great! And the storyline this week is fabby!

So in your opinion the BBC has too many soaps, and also doesn't have too many soaps. A slight confliction there, to put it mildly.


Neighbours only keeps going because of the BBC. The UK export deal is the only thing which keeps Neighbours viable (at the current rate at least), it's popularity in Australia dwindled years ago. If the BBC were ever to drop it, cancellation of the programme in Australia would be quite on the cards.

I think the whole point of this thread is to -quite rightly - balance out the channel baiting that is usually targeted at ITV on this forum. In other words, don't take it so seriously.

I think.

Though I'm not 'defending' ITV, it does (presently) have fewer soaps than BBC1, does it not?

Please delete

Coronation Street, Emmerdale, oh yes - Crossroads is gone isn't it...! Hmm... maybe you're right! But the only one that the BBC really publiscises is Eastenders - most people who work during the day will never have heard of Doctors. Neighbours is a very light, harmless soap which all the family could watch - I don't think of it as a soap like Eastenders or Coronation St, which seem to take up a lot of ITV1's primetime schedule. And I would say Casualty and Holby City are dramas, not really soaps.

Really Chris?

BBC has the soaps Eastenders, Neighbours and Doctors and also to some extent the weekly dramas set in hospitals, police stations etc can also be deemed soaps where now, as such, are at last getting recognition as soaps at the national tv awards and also 'soap' awards. BBC productions could include Casualty, Holby City and even Merseybeat! Whereas on ITV The Bill has been soapified over the last few years. Otherwise I cant think of anything else worth putting into this weekly soap-drama genre on ITV!

The point I was trying to make was that both channels do not currently have overkill in the amount of soaps on the screen BUT BBC one do seem to be relying on soaps to fill their schedules! You could also say that the BBC are filling their schedules with DIY and house moving programmes but thats just reflecting the current lifestyles that the public lead!

For instance a few years back cookery was all the rage then the next fad was DIY , the latest seems to be house moving and/or renovating!

THEREFORE - the BBC is supposed to be this ground-breaking, world leader in broadcasting and should be coming up with new exciting ideas all the time - but are relying on certain genres and formulea. Hence both previous statements are valid!

If the soaps still perform well in the ratings - leave them all where they are! Night and Day, Eldorado and Crossroads under-performed and so were all dropped. The remaining soaps still seem quite buoyant and so I think the current amount and all channels is acceptable!