We take a look at the very first episodes of the most popular British TV soaps past and present.
Eastenders February 19th 1985
The very first Eastenders scene opens with Den Watts, followed by Ali Osman and then Arthur Fowler, all of whom find Reg Cox dead. Eastenders won awards for Best Soap for 14 years running (from 1997 to 2012).
Coronation Street December 9th 1960
This is a scene from the very first episode of Coronation Street where you will see 21 year old Ken Barlow eating dinner with his parents. Coronation Street is the UK´s longest running and most popular soap of all time.
Emmerdale Farm October 16th 1972
The first episode of Emmerdale Farm began with Jacob Sugden’s funeral. Emmerdale Farm was renamed Emmerdale in 1989 and is the UK´s second longest running soap behind Coronation Street. Emmerdale has been running for 44 years as of October 16th 2016.
Brookside November 2nd 1982
The very first episode of Brookside had an audience of 4.2 million viewers, however, it was criticised for the production quality, profanity and bad support acting. 4.2 million viewers became just over 1 million until the production team ironed out the teething problems. Brookside then became one of the most popular soaps of its time for over 21 years, until the final episode on 4th November 2003.
Grange Hill February 8th 1978
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ATrUuBHRs
Grange Hill was the first British TV soap targeting the younger audience. After 30 years of production, the show was brought to an end in September 2008. You can still watch episodes of Grange Hill on CBBC.
We hope you have enjoyed reminiscing with the very first episodes of the 5 most popular and most watched British TV soaps of all time from the past and present.
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