We’ve ranked the best British soap ever – with EastEnders losing out ahead of its 40th anniversary.
It’s been 40 years since EastEnders first appeared on our TV screens, and since 1985, we have seen it all – explosions, fights, marriages and plenty of goodbyes – take place on Albert Square.
As the iconic show prepares to celebrate its anniversary next month, new research from online casino Betway has revealed that EastEnders isn’t the best soap opera of all time – Coronation Street is.
Measuring the popularity of Britain’s most-loved soaps through a unique index score – based on award wins and nominations, deaths, weddings, and divorces per episode, Google searches, and overall ratings – with a lower score indicating a higher ranking, Coronation Street came out on top.
Despite having only six award wins and a lower number of Google searches (578,940,028) than EastEnders, Corrie holds 17 award nominations and the strongest viewer rating of any soap at 5.6/10. The long-running show was also in the lead with the total number of episodes (11,456) and weddings (108) taking place since its first episode in 1960.
Emmerdale wasn’t far behind as Coronation Street’s ITV rival. Holding a higher number of award nominations of 18, Emmerdale slipped behind with a lower overall rating of 4.9/10 and Google searches (455,620,028). However, the show has the second-highest number of episodes and the highest number of deaths (50.2) and divorces (53.87) out of any other soap opera.
EastEnders secured third place on the list, boasting 12 award wins and an overall rating of 4.7/10. While the BBC soap didn’t have as many deaths (171), weddings (56) or divorces (35), the show did come out on top with the highest number of Google searches at 1,548,040,90.
Hollyoaks placed last on the list with only two award wins but had 20 award nominations overall. Despite having only 5,987 episodes since first airing in 1995 as the newer soap on the scene, the Channel 4 drama has certainly delivered plenty of action, securing first place with the highest death count at 261
Methodology
The study used an index methodology, using the following metrics and sources: