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129-450: Family Affairs is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5 . It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per week at 6:30pm on weekdays, followed by an omnibus edition on Sundays. The series never achieved high ratings, so it went through a number of dramatic revamps involving wholesale cast turnover. The premise of

258-601: A 40-year-plus run, were cancelled in 2011. All My Children aired its network finale in September 2011, with One Life to Live following suit in January 2012. Both All My Children and One Life to Live were briefly revived online in 2013, before being cancelled again that same year. In 2019, production of Days of Our Lives was put on "indefinite hiatus" and all of the cast's contracts were terminated, raising concerns within soap publications that cancellation would ensue, though

387-646: A 72-year run (including radio). As the World Turns aired its final episode on September 17, 2010, after a 54-year run. As the World Turns was the last of 20 soap operas produced by Procter & Gamble, the soap and consumer goods company from which the genre got its name. As the World Turns and Guiding Light were also among the last of the soaps that originated from New York City. All My Children , another New York–based soap, moved its production out to Los Angeles in an effort to reduce costs and raise sagging ratings; however, both it and One Life to Live , each with

516-474: A Christmas visit. It was later reported she had been killed in a car accident in Jamaica. Six months after his introduction, Max Derwin died of a heart attack during an argument with Arlo. Fern discovered that he Max left everything in his will to an illegitimate son, Maxwell, from a relationship with another woman. Claire Callan returned to the series in 2000, hardened by her disastrous marriage to Pete. She had left

645-478: A best-seller. In 1990, Stringfellow introduced table dancing to his New York club with a licensing deal with Michael J. Peter. This became Stringfellow's Presents Pure Platinum. In 1996, Cabaret of Angels, a table-side dancing club was opened for three nights a week at Stringfellow's Covent Garden. In 2006, Stringfellow opened his second adult entertainment club named Angels in Wardour Street , Soho . He

774-502: A daughter, Karen, who was involved with Stringfellow's businesses for many years and is now a boutique owner in Florida . After Stringfellow and Williams divorced , he married Coral Wright in 1967. They had one son together before divorcing: Scott, a former racecar driver. He had a 12-year relationship with Frizzby Fox, which ended in 1996, and then for two years until 1998 with Helen Benoist. Stringfellow married Bella Wright in 2009. They had

903-633: A daughter, Rosabella, in 2013 and a son, Angelo, in 2015. Stringfellow had four grandchildren: Taylor, Jaime, Thomas and Teddy. Stringfellow lived in Gerrards Cross , Cheadle Hulme and in Mallorca . Stringfellow was a donor to the Conservative Party and supported a UKIP candidate in 2012, but he publicly disavowed the Conservative Party in 2018 over Brexit , stating that the "price

1032-400: A dead body, but hey, even if you do, he or she can always come back to play the evil identical twin. Marlena Laird in 1992, during her time as a line producer and director for General Hospital . Romance , secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines. In US daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and

1161-463: A fixture of American daytime television in the early 1950s, joined by game shows , sitcom reruns and talk shows. In 1988, H. Wesley Kenney , who at the time served as the executive producer of General Hospital , said to The New York Times : I think people like stories that continue so they can relate to these people. They become like a family, and the viewer becomes emotionally involved. There seem to be two attitudes by viewers. One, that

1290-472: A flat above their shop, and the adjacent flat was occupied by students Declan Byrne (Quentin Jones), Gabby Johnson (Emma Linley) and Clive Starr (Huw Bevan). Clive's older brother Dudley ( David Verrey ), also known as Serge Pompidou, became the new chef at The Lock, and was soon joined there by vapid barmaid Siobhan Jones ( Jemma Walker ). Yasmin, known for her ostentatious facial piercings, quickly started

1419-511: A funeral. Once Tylo reprised her character in 2005, a retcon explained that Taylor had actually gone into a coma. Stunts and complex physical action are largely absent, especially from daytime serials. Such story events often take place off-screen and are referred to in dialogue instead of being shown. This is because stunts or action scenes are difficult to adequately depict without complex movements, multiple takes, and post-production editing. When episodes were broadcast live, post-production work

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1548-454: A handful of old characters on board, with Pete, Sadie, Yasmin, Cat and the returning Dave as the only pre-2002 characters remaining in the show (Pete had joined in 1997, the others in late-1998). Pete was now the show's longest-serving character. Pete and Eileen Day had married, although she had actually married him for strategic reasons in a long-term plan for revenge. In league with the sinister Mike Shaw ( Tony O'Callaghan ), Eileen had started

1677-469: A highly involved volunteer on the project. Jim Webb became Cat Matthews' reluctant second husband. Paul Webb paired up with Gemma Craig, who continued to live with her well-meaning but increasingly meddlesome foster mother Fern. Fern had married Roy's father Vince ( Stephen Yardley ). Karen Ellis embarked upon a controversial lesbian affair with her child's surrogate mother, Sadie's Australian niece Kelly Hurst (Nicky Talacko). This storyline also featured

1806-485: A luxury of space that makes them seem more naturalistic; indeed, the economics of the form demand long scenes, and conversations that a 22-episodes-per-season weekly series might dispense with in half a dozen lines of dialogue may be drawn out, as here, for pages. You spend more time even with the minor characters; the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous. Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of

1935-432: A married couple whose onscreen and real-life romance was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press at large. The first program generally considered to be a "soap opera" or daytime serial by scholars of the genre is Painted Dreams , which premiered on WGN radio Chicago, on October 20, 1930. It was regularly broadcast in a daytime time slot, where most listeners would be housewives; thus,

2064-566: A number of soap actors were also accomplished stage actors who performed live theater during breaks from their soap roles. In the 1960s and 1970s, new serials such as General Hospital , Days of our Lives , and The Young and the Restless were produced in Los Angeles . Their success made the West Coast a viable alternative to New York-produced soap operas, which were becoming more costly to perform. By

2193-425: A particular place, or focus on a large extended family. The storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. "Soap narratives, like those of film melodramas, are marked by what Steve Neale has described as 'chance happenings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations, deus ex machina endings.'" These elements may be found across

2322-799: A police officer ( Cordelia Bugeja ); and schoolboy Jamie (Michael Cole). Annie gave birth to a fifth child during the series, Sam. Chris and Annie's parents were also featured. After losing his wife Sally ( Jean Heywood ) in the opening episodes, Chris' father Angus ( Ian Cullen ) came to live with the family. Annie's parents, staunchly conservative Elsa Gates ( Delena Kidd ) and philandering Jack ( Kenneth Farrington ), lived nearby. Other original characters were Chris's partner in their building business, Nick Trip (Barry McCormick); Melanie's bubbly best friend Claire Toomey (Tina Hall); Annie's baby-obsessed friend Maria Simons ( Annie Miles ); and Duncan's loyal drinking partners Tim Webster ( Idris Elba ) and Roy Farmer (Miles Petit). The action took place in

2451-479: A post office robbery. His lawyer was Pamela Hargreaves (Sandy Hendrickse), and she soon embarked on a romance with Liam's father Nick. Pete Callan then bought The Lock, further cementing his importance to the series. Entrepreneur Peter Stringfellow even made a guest appearance in one episode. By mid-1998, the programme's middling ratings prompted the show's makers to drastically revamp the series. Brian Park , famous for his overhaul of ITV 's Coronation Street ,

2580-413: A pretence of illness as a "little game". Unfortunately, the lie took hold, leading to many months of Chrissie deceiving the community and her own family, convincing everyone that Chloe was undergoing chemotherapy. When Eileen Callan saw them out shopping when Chloe was purportedly in hospital, and after picking up on other hints, she voiced her suspicion that Chrissie was faking Chloe's illness. The community

2709-521: A radio drama in January 1937 and subsequently transferred to television in June 1952. With the exception of several years in the late 1940s, during which creator Irna Phillips was involved in a dispute with Procter & Gamble , Guiding Light was heard or seen nearly every weekday from 1937 to 2009, making it the longest story ever told in a broadcast medium. Originally serials were broadcast as 15-minute installments each weekday in daytime slots. In 1956, As

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2838-432: A relationship with Josh Matthews. Clive was revealed to be gay, and secretly in love with flatmate Declan. Dudley/Serge embarked on a romance with Maria, and the pair were soon married - with Serge wrongly believing Maria was pregnant. In late 1998, Jack Gates crashed his car on an isolated road while driving drunk . The incident knocked his wife Elsa unconscious; Jack placed her in the driver's seat before anyone arrived at

2967-603: A restaurant on the site of Roy's destroyed café. Moody, judgemental Les and his nurturing wife Denise harboured a secret about a long-ago affair. Their son Brendan was a closeted bisexual; their teenage daughter was the bright Kelly . Also moving in was nurse Tanya Woods ( Carol Starks ) and her gay best friend Sean Steel (Sam Barriscale). Doug MacKenzie ( Gareth Hale ) became Cat Webb's third husband, while his womanising son Marc ( Michael Wildman ; later Graham Bryan) married Yasmin. Doug's younger son and Marc's half-brother Justin ( Ryan Davenport ) provided comic relief as

3096-510: A series of daily prime time soaps from 2006 to 2007, which aired on newly created sister network MyNetworkTV , but the experiment was largely a failure after disappointing ratings). Due to the masses of episodes produced for a series, release of soap operas to DVD (a popular venue for distribution of current and vintage television series) is considered impractical. With the exception of occasional specials, daytime soap operas are notable by their absence from DVD release schedules (an exception being

3225-464: A series of modern, middle-class houses and spacious apartments whose geographic relation to one another was not clearly defined by the series. The primary meeting place for characters was The Lock, a slick bar/restaurant located in Charnham's riverside marina district. The expansive parklands and forested areas of Charnham Common were also frequently visited by characters. Later in 1997, Maria's ex-husband,

3354-543: A severe bout of depression, and husband Robert ( Brian Cowan ) worked to launch a catering business on Stanley Street. Their three teenage children Jessica ( Sammy Glenn ), Cameron ( Rupert Hill ) and Lewis ( Sam Stockman ) were soon joined by Robert's much younger adoptive brother Jude Davenport . Jude was openly despised by Ginny, Cameron and Lewis after he romantically pursued Jessica. Cameron and Paul Webb became close friends, until Paul learned of Cameron's brief affair with his fiancée Gemma. A furious Paul left Gemma at

3483-520: A short time from 1979 to 1980). More than half of the serials had expanded to one-hour episodes by 1980. As of 2012, three of the four U.S. serials air one-hour episodes each weekday; only The Bold and the Beautiful airs 30-minute episodes. Soap operas were originally broadcast live from the studio, creating what many at the time regarded as a feeling similar to that of a stage play. As nearly all soap operas were originated at that time from New York City ,

3612-462: A singing career, enlisting a manager (played by Jonathan Coleman ) and recording a CD, which didn't sell. The departures of Claire Callan, Nick Trip and then Maria Starr left Roy Farmer as the show's only remaining original character. Pamela Trip and Dudley Starr/Serge Pompidou had also departed. Dusty McHugh emigrated to Jamaica, leaving Yasmin and Benji – and the shop – in the care of her sister-in-law Pearl ( Doña Croll ). Dusty returned briefly for

3741-477: A single missing episode) was rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s. After The Edge of Night 's 1984 cancellation, reruns of the show's final five years were shown late nights on USA Network from 1985 to 1989. On January 20, 2000, a digital cable and satellite network dedicated to the genre, Soapnet , began re-airing soaps that originally aired on ABC, NBC and CBS. Newer broadcast networks since

3870-462: A soap opera will generally switch between several concurrent narrative threads that may at times interconnect and affect one another or may run entirely independent to each other. Episodes may feature some of the show's storylines, but not always all of them. Especially in daytime serials and those that are broadcast each weekday, there is some rotation of both storyline and actors so any given storyline or actor will appear in some but usually not all of

3999-429: A stash of MDMA ; she subsequently took several of the pills and wound up in hospital. Tests revealed the source of the illness, but also suggested she might also have cancer, and further tests were ordered. In the public outpouring of sympathy and support for the family, Chrissie finally found acceptance in the neighbourhood. When tests showed Chloe did not have cancer, Chrissie kept it quiet and convinced Chloe to maintain

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4128-421: A succession of attractive young residents, including Polly Arnold ( Juliet Cowan ) and Dr Tanya Ayuba ( Laila Rouass ). Polly romanced Declan Byrne, but when her brother Gavin ( Neil Roberts ) arrived in town, she resumed her incestuous love affair with him, resulting in a disgusted Declan leaving Charnham. The establishment of a youth refuge on the street angered some residents, although Roy Farmer soon became

4257-401: A week's worth of episodes. Soap operas rarely conclude all their storylines at the same time. When one storyline ends, there are several other story threads at differing stages of development . Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of cliffhanger , and the season finale (if a soap incorporates a break between seasons) ends in the same way, only to be resolved when the show returns for

4386-519: Is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the actor with the longest uninterrupted performance in a single role. A number of performers played roles for 20 years or longer, occasionally on more than one show. Rachel Ames played Audrey Hardy on both General Hospital and Port Charles from 1964 until 2007, and returned in 2009. Susan Lucci played Erica Kane in All My Children from

4515-598: Is not scheduled or because of last-minute deferrals of scheduled episodes to the following day because of breaking news coverage. ( Temporary production stoppages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic similarly resulted in CBS and ABC airing older reruns of The Young and the Restless , The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital during the Spring and Summer of 2020 in order to ration first-run episodes and, eventually, to fill airtime after

4644-470: Is not uncommon for a single character to be played by multiple actors. The key character of Mike Karr on The Edge of Night was played by three actors. Conversely, several actors have remained playing the same character for many years, or decades even. Helen Wagner played Hughes family matriarch Nancy Hughes on American soap As the World Turns from its April 2, 1956, debut through her death in May 2010. She

4773-587: Is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The longest-running existing television soap is Coronation Street , which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960. According to Albert Moran, one of the defining features that make a television program a soap opera is "that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode". In 2012, Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Lloyd wrote of daily dramas: Although melodramatically eventful, soap operas such as this also have

4902-542: The 1970s, became one of the first older women on the American serials to enter the workforce. Guiding Light dealt with Bert Bauer ( Charita Bauer ) and her alcoholic husband Bill, and their endless marital troubles. When Bert's status shifted to caring mother and town matriarch, her children's marital troubles were showcased. Search for Tomorrow mostly told its story through the eyes of Joanne Gardner ( Mary Stuart ). Even when stories revolved around other characters, Joanne

5031-455: The 1990s and 2000s incorporated supernatural and science fiction elements into their storylines in an attempt to boost their ratings. One of the main characters on the earlier soap opera Dark Shadows was Barnabas Collins , a vampire, and One Life to Live featured an angel named Virgil. Both shows featured characters who traveled to and from the past. In 1995, Days of our Lives featured a storyline in which fan favorite character Marlena Evans

5160-718: The Beatles a telegram congratulating them on their first album, Please Please Me . In 1963, Stringfellow began another club, the Blue Moon, at St. John's Church Hall in Sheffield. The opening act was the Marauders who had a single, "That's What I Want", in the British top 50. More bands followed such as the Kinks . Other bands that played at the club and who later became famous were Freddie Starr and

5289-807: The Black Cat Club. Several bands played in the club, such as the Pursuers, Dave Berry and the Cruisers , Johnny Tempest and the Cadillacs and from London, Screaming Lord Sutch , the Savages , Count Lindsay and Gene Vincent . His fortunes changed when The Beatles played on 2 April 1963. The demand for concert tickets was so great that Stringfellow rented a larger venue, the Azena Ballroom in Sheffield . On that night he sent

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5418-794: The Midnighters , the Searchers , Shane Fenton and the Fentones , Wayne Fontana , Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men, Rod Stewart and the Soul Agents, Vance Arnold & The Avengers , Dean Marshall and the Deputies. In 1964, Stringfellow opened the highly successful Mojo Club, later renamed the King Mojo Club in Sheffield. During its three and half years of business, many bands played at

5547-509: The Millionaire Club to Granada Ltd and he then moved with his whole family to London. There he opened Stringfellows Covent Garden. It was an immediate success as a nightclub in London, where celebrities, international film stars, TV personalities, rock stars, models, paparazzi and national newspaper journalists partied for the next 15 years. In 1983, he took over the old cabaret club, Talk of

5676-448: The Town, which had closed. He reopened it with its original name Hippodrome and it became the "World's Greatest Disco". The Hippodrome introduced its first gay night at the venue under his management. He also started Hippodrome Records and one of his acts to sign was Dusty Springfield who released the single, "Sometimes Like Butterflies". In 1986, he opened Stringfellow's New York, which

5805-399: The U.S. since the 2000s. As of September 2022, only four daytime soap operas – General Hospital , Days of Our Lives , The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful – are still in production with three airing on two broadcast networks and one on streaming, down from a total of 12 soaps broadcast during the 1990–91 season and a high of 19 in the 1969–70 season. This marks

5934-452: The World Turns and The Edge of Night , both produced by Procter & Gamble Productions , debuted as the first half-hour soap operas on the CBS television network. All soap operas broadcast half-hour episodes by the end of the 1960s. With increased popularity in the 1970s, most soap operas had expanded to an hour in length by the end of the decade ( Another World even expanded to 90 minutes for

6063-890: The action to one place. Many storylines now focussed around Pete Callan and his various nefarious activities. Meanwhile, the large group of younger characters in the series went through a series of romantic entanglements. The newly introduced Warrington family became key figures in the show's on-going storylines; Nikki Warrington (Rebecca Blake) endured problems in her marriage and her large blended family, which consisted of her doctor husband Andrew ( Simon Cook ), his children Luke ( Royce Cronin ) and Sara ( Beth Cordingly ), and Nikki's children Becky (Chandra Reugg) and Darren (Joe Fox, later Ike Hamilton) from her previous marriage to incarcerated Adrian Scott ( Ariyon Bakare ). Nikki became embroiled in scandal when she embarked upon an affair with her stepson Luke. This played alongside Pete Callan's latest misdemeanour – framing new wife Siobhan for

6192-640: The age of 16. His Merchant Navy career lasted two years. On his return to Sheffield, he worked briefly in various jobs. While at Dobson's Furnishings Company he was convicted of selling stolen carpets and served two weeks in Armley Prison , Leeds , in June 1962 and six weeks in Ford Open Prison . After his conviction and imprisonment he was unable to find regular work. This led to his business career running clubs. In 1962, Stringfellow rented St Aidan's Church Hall in Sheffield every Friday night, operating

6321-578: The altar and left Charnham. Charlotte Day ( Leanne Lakey ) arrived and began working at the Black Swan, quickly becoming a love interest for Pete Callan. She was later joined by her younger sister Lucy ( Julia Lee Smith ) and their mother Eileen ( Rosie Rowell ). After Charlotte's departure, Eileen and Lucy continued in the series, becoming involved in several highly dramatic events. Eileen soon became Pete Callan's fourth wife after his divorce from Siobhan. Peter England joined as Ben Galloway, who lived in

6450-408: The brief appearance of Kelly's father and Sadie's brother-in-law Barry ( Antony Booth ). At Christmas, Paul Webb discovered that Jim was not his brother, but his father. In 2002, Cat Webb's niece Geri ( Anna Acton ) moved to Stanley Street, as did the troubled Davenport family, who moved into the flat originally occupied by Declan, Gabby and Clive. Mother Ginny ( Joanna Foster ) was recovering from

6579-612: The cabaret and put in full-time DJs such as Chris Crossley and Peter Tyler. He and his brother, Paul Stringfellow, also served as DJs. In 1976, Stringfellow and his then business partner and brother, Geoffrey Stringfellow, sold the Cinderella Rockafella's to Mecca and moved to Manchester , where they opened the Millionaire Club. There were no live bands in the Millionaire Club. However, the Stringfellows hired named DJs including Peter Tyler and Brett Sinclair. In 1980, he sold

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6708-715: The callous Pete Callan , appeared in town. Pete, played by ex- Brookside actor David Easter , provided the series with a much-needed villain, and he quickly became the show's standout character. Pete soon married Claire Toomey, who had been deserted by Duncan after giving birth to his twin children. Another early arrival was the sassy bisexual Susie Ross (Tina Landini), who took a job at The Lock and romanced both Duncan and his twin sister Holly. Nick's troublesome teenage son Liam (Stephen Hoyle) arrived, and neighbourhood nosey parker Bill Cockerill ( Roger Sloman ) and his wife Samantha ( Tessa Wyatt ), along with their daughter Charlotte, made several appearances. Liam became involved in

6837-401: The cast and crew ventured to Jamaica to tape a love consummation storyline between the characters of Garth and Kathy. During the 1980s, perhaps as a reaction to the evening drama series that were gaining high ratings, daytime serials began to incorporate action and adventure storylines, more big-business intrigue, and an increased emphasis on youthful romance. One of the most popular couples

6966-433: The cast and storylines are rotated across the week's episodes so that each cast member will appear in some but not all episodes. UK and Australian soap operas move through storylines at a faster rate than daytime serials, making them closer to U.S. evening soap operas in this regard. American daytime soap operas feature stylistic elements that set them apart from other shows: Soap opera ratings have significantly fallen in

7095-408: The celebrity edition of Come Dine with Me , with the first broadcast on 17 September 2008. Stringfellow appeared in season 1, episode 2 on Trigger Happy TV . He also appeared in season 15 episode 1 of Top Gear , which was broadcast on 27 June 2010, where he had to help Jeremy Clarkson when he was stuck in a rolled over Reliant Robin . Stringfellow married Norma Williams in 1960. They had

7224-513: The club included the first Tamla/Motown acts to play in the UK, Ben E. King , Sonny Boy Williamson , Tina Turner , Inez and Charlie Foxx , John Lee Hooker , and Little Stevie Wonder . In 1968, he went into another business venture with Down Broadway, just under the Stylo's shoe shop in the centre of Sheffield. On 4 November 1968, Jethro Tull was the first act to play at Down Broadway and John Peel

7353-1025: The club, including the Who , Pink Floyd , the Brian Auger Trinity , the Graham Bond Organisation , John Mayall's Bluesbreakers , the Yardbirds , Zoot Money's Big Roll Band , the Hollies , the Merseybeats , the Spencer Davis Group , the Pretty Things , Manfred Mann , the Small Faces , Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames , and the Jimi Hendrix Experience . Other American acts who played in

7482-454: The daily episode format of its daytime counterparts) and Another Life (a soap that combined standard serial drama with religious overtones), during the 1980s. Fox, the fourth "major network" , carried a short-lived daytime soap Tribes in 1990. Yet, other than this and a couple of pilot attempts, Fox mainly stayed away from daytime soaps, and has not attempted them since their ascension to major-network status in 1994 (it did later attempt

7611-642: The deadly blow after Siobhan left in terror. Siobhan was quickly arrested and sent to prison. In 2001, the Warrington clan was extended to include their relatives, the Webb and Ellis families: Nikki's brother Matt Ellis ( Matthew Jay Lewis ), his girlfriend Karen ( Tanya Franks ) and Karen's brothers Jim ( Joe Dow ) and Paul Webb ( Martin Delaney ). With their storylines gradually dwindling, Gabby Johnson and Clive Starr quietly departed. The places in their flat were taken by

7740-503: The demographic group for which soap opera advertisers pay the most. Those who might watch in workplace breakrooms are not counted, as Nielsen does not track television viewing outside the home. The rise of cable and the Internet has also provided new sources of entertainment during the day. The genre's decline has additionally been attributed to reality television displacing soap operas as TV's dominant form of melodrama. An early term for

7869-442: The early 1970s, nearly all soap operas had transitioned to being taped. As the World Turns and The Edge of Night were the last to make the switch, in 1975. Port Charles used the practice of running 13-week " story arcs ," in which the main events of the arc are played out and wrapped up over the 13 weeks, although some storylines did continue over more than one arc. According to the 2006 Preview issue of Soap Opera Digest , it

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7998-512: The entire Hart family (except for Duncan, who had already left the series) was killed. After Roy and Melanie's wedding, the Harts conducted a small reception on their river boat. After Roy left the boat to retrieve a hangover cure for Jamie, a fallen candle ignited leaking gas. The resultant explosion killed all on board, just as Chris learnt of Annie's affair with Dave Matthews. Immediately, the show's theme tune and opening titles were revamped to reflect

8127-507: The exam for Sheffield Central Technical College and he left three years later at the age of 15 with a 4th grade Technical Diploma. When Stringfellow was 13 years old, he worked at a cinema on The Wicker arterial street in Sheffield. His first job after leaving school was as an assistant tie salesman at Austin Reed . After some casual jobs he enrolled as an apprentice in the Merchant Navy , at

8256-465: The exotic appeal of the stereotypes connected to the location. As examples, EastEnders focuses on the tough and grim life in the East End of London; Coronation Street and its characters exhibit the stereotypical characteristic of "northern straight talking". If we want to blend an actor back into a show, there's always a way. You can generally find a way to twist and manipulate something. You rarely see

8385-693: The final episode was broadcast on 30 December 2005. Producer Sean O'Connor changed to standard video presentation from September 2005 until the final episode. The serial originally focused on the Hart and Gates family and some of their friends and close associates living in the fictional outer London suburb of Charnham. The Hart family consisted of builder Chris (Ian Ashpitel), his wife Annie ( Liz Crowther ) and their four children: ladies' man Duncan ( Rocky Marshall ); his twin sister, trainee solicitor and confused virgin Holly ( Sandra Huggett ); feisty Melanie , who became

8514-720: The fire in an attempt to frame him for arson, and he plotted a slow and satisfying revenge against Eileen. Another series of new characters were brought in to remould Family Affairs once again. Gary Costello ( Gary Webster ), a businessman who lost his fortune in a failed business deal, was forced to move from Chigwell to the comparatively modest Stanley Street, much to the shame and embarrassment of his snobbish, socialite wife Chrissie ( Kazia Pelka ). Their daughters Melanie ( Rebecca Hunter ) and Chloe (Leah Coombes), were more concerned about leaving behind their school friends. They were later joined by Gary's dependable mother Myra ( Kate Williams ). The fractious Boulter family opened

8643-428: The fire that killed Roy, in an attempt to frame Pete for arson . No one knew Roy was inside when the fire was set; when Pete was arrested, the charge was arson and murder. Pete was sent to prison on remand and was absent for many months, seen in isolated episodes where other characters visited him in prison. He eventually returned to the storyline with his trial, ending in his acquittal, return to Charnham and to running

8772-428: The first network daytime serial. The main characteristics that define soap operas are "an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations". Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in

8901-429: The first new daytime soap opera to premiere on a major broadcast network since Passions in 1999. As women increasingly worked outside of the home, daytime television viewing declined. New generations of potential viewers were not raised watching soap operas with their mothers, leaving the shows' long and complex storylines foreign to younger audiences. As viewers age, ratings continue to drop among young adult women,

9030-511: The first soap opera since Generations to feature an African American cast. On April 12, 2024, CBS renewed The Talk for a 15th and final season, with the show concluding in December 2024. Three days later, on April 15, The Gates (now titled " Beyond the Gates ") was greenlit by CBS and is slated to premiere on February 24, 2025, likely to take the time slot of The Talk , meaning it will be

9159-530: The first time since 1953 that there have been only four soap operas airing on broadcast television . The Young and the Restless , the highest-rated soap opera from 1988 to the present, had fewer than 5 million daily viewers as of February 2012, a number exceeded by several non-scripted programs such as Judge Judy . Circulations of soap opera magazines have decreased and some have even ceased publication. Soapnet, which largely aired soap opera reruns, began to be phased out in 2012 and fully ceased operations

9288-495: The following year. The Daytime Emmy Awards , which honor soap operas and other daytime shows, moved from prime time network television to smaller cable channels in 2012, then failed to get any TV broadcast at all in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Several of the U.S.'s most established soaps ended between 2009 and 2012. The longest-running drama in television and radio history, Guiding Light , barely reached 2.1 million daily viewers in 2009 and ended on September 18 of that year, after

9417-724: The gamut of soap operas, from EastEnders to Dallas . In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the US, the characters are frequently attractive, seductive, glamorous and wealthy. Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working-class environments. Many of the soaps produced in those two countries explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. Both UK and Australian soap operas feature comedic elements, often affectionate comic stereotypes such as

9546-413: The gossip or the grumpy old man, presented as a comic foil to the emotional turmoil that surrounds them. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare. UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting "reality" or purport to have a "realistic" style. UK soap operas also frequently foreground their geographic location as a key defining feature of the show while depicting and capitalising on

9675-497: The halfway house and worked in Roy Farmer's Internet café. Ben's storyline progressed to a point where Ben admitted he was gay and shared the first gay kiss on British daytime TV. Meanwhile, Yasmin and Benji's aunt Pearl moved away, and a guilt-racked Siobhan Callan endured prison and a lengthy court case after being framed for Josh's murder. She was eventually released and returned to Charnham, where she and others slowly began to piece

9804-435: The late 1960s and into the 1970s. Exterior shots were slowly incorporated into the series The Edge of Night and Dark Shadows . Unlike many earlier serials that were set in fictional towns, The Best of Everything and Ryan's Hope were set in a real-world location, New York City. The first exotic location shoot was made by All My Children , to St. Croix in 1978. Many other soap operas planned lavish storylines after

9933-484: The late 1980s, such as Fox and cable television networks, have largely eschewed soap operas in their daytime schedules, instead running syndicated programming and reruns. No cable television outlet has produced its own daytime serial, although DirecTV 's The 101 Network took over existing serial Passions , continuing production for one season; while TBS and CBN Cable Network respectively aired their own soap operas, The Catlins (a primetime soap that utilized

10062-416: The late-1998 infusion of new characters, it was established Dusty and her children lived over their minimarket and that in the next door flat were students Declan, Gabby and Clive. Now, we would see action regularly extend to the shop's street exterior and the surrounding buildings, and this location was revealed to be the bustling Stanley Street with its row of narrow shopfronts and terraced houses. Just as Roy

10191-493: The local clown. He and Kelly Boulter had a romance that led to an unplanned pregnancy. Kelly went on to have the child, and the couple began living together. With the new cast members in place, storylines in 2004 focused on the new characters through several major storylines. During one of many marital upsets in the Costello household, daughter Chloe retreated upstairs and rifled through older sister Melanie's possessions, only to find

10320-449: The loyalty of the soap opera fan base and the expansion of several half-hour series into hour-long broadcasts in order to maximise advertising revenues. The article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs. The issue's cover notably featured its first daytime soap stars, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives ,

10449-525: The matriarch of The Guiding Light , Bert Bauer, developed uterine cancer (as the actress, Charita Bauer , had been diagnosed with the same illness in real life). The storyline encouraged many women to get pap smears and the CBS mailroom in New York City received a then-record amount of fan mail wishing Bauer (both Bert and Charita) well. Nixon would go on to tell many socially relevant storylines on her soaps One Life to Live and All My Children in

10578-439: The most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback romance novels . Soap opera storylines weave intricate, convoluted and sometimes confusing tales of characters who have affairs, meet mysterious strangers and fall in love, and who commit adultery, all of which keeps audiences hooked on the unfolding story. Crimes such as kidnapping, assault (sometimes sexual), and even murder may go unpunished if

10707-444: The murder of Josh Matthews. Siobhan had struck a blow to a suspected burglar in the darkened kitchen upstairs at the pub, where she lived with Pete, before realising the "burglar" was merely barman Josh Matthews. Siobhan falsely believed that her blow to Josh had killed him, when it had actually just knocked him unconscious; Pete, who was on the scene in seconds and harboured a deep-seated entity with Josh's father Dave, secretly delivered

10836-421: The perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story. Australian and UK soap operas also feature a significant proportion of romance storylines. In Russia, most popular serials explore the "romantic quality" of criminal and/or oligarch life. In soap opera storylines, previously unknown children, siblings and twins (including the evil variety ) of established characters often emerge to upset and reinvigorate

10965-411: The programs ran out of new episodes to broadcast; Days of Our Lives , which produces its episodes roughly eight months ahead of their initial broadcast, did not resort to airing older episodes during this time as it had a larger first-run episode backlog.) Early episodes of Dark Shadows were rerun on PBS member stations in the early 1970s after the show's cancellation, and the entire series (except for

11094-601: The prosperous Brooks family with four daughters, and the working-class Foster family of a single working mother with three children. Its storylines explored realistic problems including cancer, mental illness, poverty, and infidelity. In contrast, Dark Shadows (1966–1971), Port Charles (1997–2003) and Passions (1999–2008) featured supernatural characters and dealt with fantasy and horror storylines. Their characters included vampires, witches, ghosts, goblins, and angels. The American soap opera Guiding Light (originally titled The Guiding Light until 1975) started as

11223-453: The pub with Eileen, who had become licensee while he was in custody. On Pete's first day back, one of his tasks was to dispose of Mike Shaw's corpse; in an incident, somewhat similar to the death of Josh Matthews, Mike was accidentally killed by Pete's stepdaughter Lucy after he had tried to rape Eileen. Sam Taylor ( Leon Ockenden ), Eileen's son from a previous relationship with Mike, arrived. Pete secretly learned that Eileen and Mike had set

11352-451: The reality TV genre was docu-soap . A precursor to reality TV, the televised 1994–95 O. J. Simpson murder case , both preempted and competed with an entire season of soaps, transforming viewing habits and leaving soap operas with 10 percent fewer viewers after the trial ended. Peter Stringfellow Peter James Stringfellow (17 October 1940 – 7 June 2018) was an English businessman who owned several nightclubs . Stringfellow

11481-407: The revelation that Pete was actually her father. For several months after the revamp, the existing locations of Maria Starr's flat, Pete Callan's flat, the marina and The Lock continued to be featured. Dave and Cat moved into the former Gates residence. Despite the new tube station opening sequence, the exterior shots of the show's locales the frequently visited Charnham Common suggested that Charnham

11610-412: The same bed for many months. She was actually faking the pregnancy and wearing a cushion under her dress. Disguised by a dark wig, Maria stole a baby from a maternity hospital and brought it home, attempting to pass it off as her own child. The truth quickly came out and the baby returned to its real parents, who chose to not press charges. Pamela defended new client Simon Thornton ( Valentine Pelka ), who

11739-448: The scene and blamed her for the crash. Elsa suffered amnesia during her subsequent recuperation, and Jack kept her isolated from family for fear that their support or inquiries could trigger the return of her memory and uncover the truth. When Elsa's memory did begin to return, Jack smothered her with a pillow, changed his will to make Pete Callan his chief beneficiary, and committed suicide by gassing himself in his car. On 29 January 1999,

11868-494: The serial's new direction. They now deployed flashes of a tube journey to Charnham Station, linking Charnham with the city of London. Over this, shots of the new characters introduced over preceding weeks were shown. Roy suffered emotional trauma after the loss of Melanie, kidnapping Claire Callan and threatening to kill her. After her rescue, she left Charnham and Roy recovered. Maria Starr announced her pregnancy, while refusing to let Dudley/Serge anywhere near her or to even share

11997-416: The series was also refocused from a family in a quiet suburb just outside London, to a range of different people living on a bustling outer London street. The series was shot on video and given a film look . In 1999 and 2004, single episodes used standard video presentation for testing purposes. On 2 August 2005, Channel 5 announced they would not renew Family Affairs . Production ceased on 4 November, and

12126-493: The series – such as The Lock and the marina – would not be seen again. Alongside Yasmin's minimarket and the newly opened Internet café, The Black Swan would become one of the show's primary meeting places, despite the fact that landlord Pete Callan was openly hated by most of his neighbours. From now on, most outdoor taping was on the Stanley Street set, reducing the number of time-consuming location shoots while confining much of

12255-426: The set of relationships examined by the series. Unexpected calamities disrupt weddings, childbirths, and other major life events with unusual frequency. As in comic books – another popular form of linear storytelling pioneered in the US during the 20th century – a character's death is not guaranteed to be permanent . On The Bold and the Beautiful , Taylor Hayes ( Hunter Tylo ) was shown to flatline and have

12384-420: The shopfront of Robert's catering business. The driver was Dave Matthews' recently arrived stepson Jake Walker (Seb Castang), who lost control of the stolen car during a police chase following a botched deal by Gabriel Drummond . The biggest casualty of Davis's arrival was the show's only remaining original character, Roy Farmer, who was killed in a fire at his Internet café business. These departures left just

12513-425: The show was later renewed through September 2021. In 2022, NBC announced that Days of Our Lives would be moved exclusively to its streaming service, Peacock , making NBC the first of the big three networks not to air any daytime soap operas. In March 2024, CBS Studios , NAACP Venture , in partnership with P&G Studios announced that a new soap opera for CBS titled The Gates is in development and will be

12642-1535: The show's debut in January 1970 until it ended its network television run on ABC on September 23, 2011. Erika Slezak played Victoria Lord #3 on One Life to Live from 1971 until the show ended its network television run on ABC on January 13, 2012, and resumed the role in its short-lived online revival on April 29, 2013. Other actors have played several characters on different shows. Millette Alexander , Bernard Barrow , Doris Belack , David Canary , Judith Chapman , Keith Charles , Jordan Charney , Joan Copeland , Nicolas Coster , Jacqueline Courtney , Augusta Dabney , Louis Edmonds , Don Hastings , Larry Haines , Vincent Irizarry , Lenore Kasdorf , Teri Keane , Lois Kibbee , John Loprieno , Lori March , Maeve McGuire , Robert Mili , James Mitchell , Lee Patterson , Christopher Pennock , Antony Ponzini , William Prince , Rosemary Prinz , Louise Shaffer , Mary Stuart , Richard Thomas , Diana van der Vlis , Mary K. Wells , Lesley Woods and Michael Zaslow , among many others, have all played multiple soap roles. For several decades, most daytime soap operas concentrated on family and marital discord, legal drama and romance. The action rarely left interior settings, and many shows were set in fictional, medium-sized Midwestern towns. Social issue storylines were typically verboten when soaps were starting, due to heavy network-imposed censorship at that time, but writer and producer Agnes Nixon introduced these storylines slowly but surely, first in 1962 when

12771-493: The shows were aimed at – and consumed by – a predominantly female audience. Clara, Lu, 'n Em would become the first network radio serial of the type when it aired on the NBC Blue Network at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on January 27, 1931. Although it did not make the move until February 15, 1932, Clara, Lu 'n Em would become the first network serial of the type to move to a weekday daily timeslot, and so also became

12900-429: The start of a new yearly broadcast. Evening soap operas and those that air at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode and present all storylines. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger. In 1976, Time magazine described American daytime television as "TV's richest market", noting

13029-471: The stories are similar to what happened to them in real life, or two, thank goodness that isn't me. Many long-running US soap operas established particular environments for their stories. The Doctors and General Hospital , in the beginning, told stories almost exclusively from inside the confines of a hospital. As the World Turns dealt heavily with Chris Hughes' law practice and the travails of his wife Nancy who, tired of being "the loyal housewife" in

13158-531: The storyline. Lovable rogue Dave Matthews ( Richard Hawley ), his brassy chain-smoking wife Cat ( Nicola Duffett ), and Dave's son from an earlier marriage Josh (Terry Burns) moved in. Dave was an extramarital love interest for Annie Hart, before falling in love with her daughter Holly. Also introduced was Dusty McHugh ( Doreen Ingleton ), the strident owner of the local mini supermarket, and her children, mouthy daughter Yasmin ( Ebony Thomas ) and conscientious son Benji (Junior Laniyan). The McHughs lived in

13287-526: The success of the All My Children shoot. Soap operas Another World and Guiding Light both went to St. Croix in 1980, the former show culminating a long-running storyline between popular characters Mac, Rachel and Janice, and the latter to serve as an exotic setting for Alan Spaulding and Rita Bauer 's torrid affair. Search for Tomorrow taped for two weeks in Hong Kong in 1981. Later that year, some of

13416-678: The supernatural soap opera, Dark Shadows , which did receive an essentially complete release on both VHS and DVD; the single lost episode #1219 is reconstructed by means of an off-the-air audio recording, still images, and recap material from adjacent episodes). Soap opera performers in the United States are typically divided into two main groups: primary characters (sometimes referred to as "contract players" – as their portrayers signed contracts of employment – or leading characters) and secondary characters (sometimes referred to as recurring characters). These two groups of characters make up

13545-465: The task of finally getting viewing figures up to an acceptable standard. Paul Webb left after his portrayer, Martin Delaney , left the series to take a role in New Zealand serial Shortland Street . Following Paul's departure all members of the related Webb, Warrington and Ellis families were gradually phased out. Robert Davenport and co-worker Fern Farmer were killed when a runaway car ploughed into

13674-584: The time. With the resultant budget cuts, soap operas were no longer able to go on expensive location shoots overseas as they were able to do in the 1980s. During that decade, soap operas increasingly focused on younger characters and social issues , such as Erica Kane 's drug addiction on All My Children , the re-emergence of Viki Lord 's dissociative identity disorder on One Life to Live , and Stuart Chandler dealing with his wife Cindy dying of AIDS on All My Children . Other social issues included cancer , rape , abortion and racism . Several shows during

13803-507: The truth about her long-ago affair came to light. However, they eventually reconciled their differences, although Brendan would leave town to escape his own problems. Soap opera According to some dictionaries, for something to be adequately described as a "soap opera", it doesn't need to be long-running. , but some authors define the word in a way that excludes short-running serial dramas from their definition of "soap opera". BBC Radio 's The Archers , first broadcast in 1950,

13932-622: The truth together, although nothing could be proved and Pete got away with the murder. Siobhan departed in 2002, after Pete caused a car crash that injured her killed Kate Matherson ( Mary Stockley ). Robert Davenport had a one-night stand with Geri, after which she accused him of rape. He went to trial but was acquitted. The stress led to the break-up of his marriage, resulting in Ginny moving to France with Jessica. Jude Davenport also moved away. In September 2003, another drastic cast revamp occurred as new series producer Alison Davis arrived, presented with

14061-495: The twins with her sister. In 2000, coinciding with the introduction of the Warrington family, the geographic focus of the series was retconned to Stanley Street, in the fictitious West London W15 postal district. Previously, the specific location of Charnham had never been explicitly stated; it was known to be close to a river (actually the Grand Union Canal at Yeading ), and characters sometimes travelled to Maidenhead . With

14190-420: The vast majority of the people who appear on any given soap. There are also characters who appear only for a short time as dictated by a specific storyline, and even characters who may only get a first name and no fleshed-out character history with little dialogue (these are sometimes referred to as "under-5s" since they receive under five lines of dialogue in each episode). Due to the longevity of these shows, it

14319-498: The world from being frozen, brought a mobster down by finding his black book in a left-handed boy statue, and helped a princess find her Aztec treasure in Mexico . Other soap operas attempted similar adventure storylines, often featuring footage shot on location – frequently in exotic locales. During the 1990s, the mob, action and adventure stories fell out of favor with producers, due to generally declining ratings for daytime soap operas at

14448-520: Was Luke Spencer and Laura Webber on General Hospital . Luke and Laura helped to attract both male and female fans. Even actress Elizabeth Taylor was a fan and at her own request was given a guest role in Luke and Laura's wedding episode. Luke and Laura's popularity led to other soap producers striving to reproduce this success by attempting to create supercouples of their own. With increasingly bizarre action storylines coming into vogue, Luke and Laura saved

14577-449: Was Stringfellow's first super club, mixing recorded music and live bands. In 1972, Stringfellow acquired a space next door to Cinderella's to create another club called Rockafella's. This was the first and last of his super cabaret and super clubs. Comedy duo Mike and Bernie Winters and magician Paul Daniels performed at the club. The two clubs were combined in 1973 and given the name Cinderella Rockafella's, and Stringfellow dropped

14706-480: Was a modern, green, and spacious small town. New characters continued to join. One arrival was the Derwin family - censorious Fern Derwin ( Belinda Sinclair ), easy-going taxi-driver Max ( Nick Stringer ) and their rebellious foster son Arlo Dean (Ash Newman). The Derwins soon fostered the troubled and sensitive Gemma Craig ( Angela Hazeldine ) who had recently lost her entire family. Meanwhile, Josh Matthews pursued

14835-417: Was able to successfully market Angels as providing rooms for the entertainment "in privacy" of young women in lingerie. Stringfellow first appeared on television as a warm-up act on Ready Steady Go! in 1964. He contributed to numerous programmes, both radio and television, in subsequent decades. Stringfellow appeared on Noel's House Party where he was gunged alongside Jimmy Savile . He appeared on

14964-698: Was accused of rape. She was convinced of his innocence so didn't fully investigate his background, but later learned he had kept vital facts about previous convictions from her. Realising he was guilty, Pamela dropped the case and resigned from her job, but Simon started stalking her. Pamela accidentally killed Simon with an iron during a confrontation at his home. Fearing her claims of self-defence would not be believed, she enlisted Sadie's help to bury Simon's body on Charnham Common. Racked with guilt for several months, Pamela and Sadie exhibited strange behaviour which puzzled Nick, who had proposed to Pamela during this time. Nick and Pamela were married at The Lock. The marriage

15093-592: Was aghast and ostracized Eileen for several weeks. Chrissie's pretence continued for a few more weeks, until a suspicious Tanya removed Chloe's bandages to reveal that there were no injection wounds at all. Tanya herself was pregnant to Sean; as platonic friends with little prospect of parenthood presenting itself, they planned to become parents together and Tanya underwent in vitro fertilisation . Brendan Boulter became engaged to Melanie Costello married her while conducting an affair with Sean. Denise Boulter had been largely ostracised by her outraged daughter and husband after

15222-450: Was appointed as Family Affairs' new producer and was tasked with remodelling the series. It was decided that the majority of the regular characters would be written out – including all members of Hart and Gates families. Throughout 1998, Tim, Susie and Liam departed, and the recurring Cockerill couple was phased out. Pamela's romance with Nick developed and her mother, lovable but meddling gossip Sadie Hargreaves ( Barbara Young ), entered

15351-527: Was booked to play as the star DJ. Another progressive rock group, Yes , also played at the club. In 1969, Stringfellow acquired the first alcohol licence for another of his clubs called the Penthouse Sheffield. The club only lasted for a year due to trouble with overcrowding and objections from the local police. This prompted him to sell it and move to Leeds . In 1970, he opened Cinderella's in Leeds. This

15480-843: Was born in the City General Hospital, Sheffield , West Riding of Yorkshire, on 17 October 1940, to Elsie Bowers and James William Stringfellow, a steelworker who served in the Royal Scots Greys during the Second World War . He was the eldest of four, having three younger brothers; Geoffrey, Paul and Terry. The family lived in Andover Street, Pitsmoor , Sheffield , until 1948 when they had moved to Marshall Street, Pitsmoor. Peter Stringfellow attended Pye Bank Church of England Primary School. He failed his 11 plus and so attended Burngreave Secondary School for one year. He then passed

15609-408: Was briefly discussed that all ABC shows might do telenovela arcs, but this was rejected. Though U.S. daytime soap operas are not generally rerun by their networks, occasionally they are rebroadcast elsewhere; CBS and ABC have made exceptions to this, airing older episodes (either those aired earlier in the current season or those aired years prior) on major holidays when special event programming

15738-589: Was establishing his new Internet café business, next door to Yasmin's mini-supermarket, the Warringtons moved in across the street. Roy came to live in the street as well, and when Pete Callan sold The Lock to buy an old-style pub , The Black Swan, this too was revealed to be on the same short street. In quick succession, any regular characters not already living there soon moved into Stanley Street, while Sadie's home inexplicably shifted there without her having to move house. After this, various locations seen earlier in

15867-463: Was frequented by New York celebrities and managed with his daughter Karen. In 1989, he opened Stringfellow's Miami , and then Stringfellow's Los Angeles in 1990. He sustained huge financial losses due to the American economic recession in 1989. In 1996, Stringfellow's autobiography , King of Clubs , was published by Little, Brown . It was serialised in the Baltimore Sun newspaper and became

15996-411: Was frequently a key player in their storylines. Days of Our Lives initially focused on Dr. Tom Horton and his steadfast wife Alice. The show later branched out to focus more on their five children. The Edge of Night featured as its central character Mike Karr, a police detective (later an attorney), and largely dealt with organized crime. The Young and the Restless first focused on two families,

16125-461: Was impossible. Though all serials have long switched to being taped, extensive post-production work and multiple takes, while possible, are not feasible due to the tight taping schedules and low budgets. The first daytime TV soap opera in the United States was These Are My Children in 1949, though earlier melodramas had aired in the evenings as once-a-week programs. Soap operas quickly became

16254-645: Was possessed by the devil, and in 1998, Guiding Light featured a cloning storyline involving legacy character Reva Shayne . Modern U.S. daytime soap operas largely stay true to the original soap opera format. The duration and format of storylines and the visual grammar employed by U.S. daytime serials set them apart from soap operas in other countries and from evening soap operas. Stylistically, UK and Australian soap operas, which are usually produced for early evening timeslots, fall somewhere in between U.S. daytime and evening soap operas. Similar to U.S. daytime soap operas, UK and Australian serials are shot on videotape, and

16383-474: Was short-lived, as Simon's body was found and Pamela was arrested and imprisoned for murder. Pamela took full blame and insisted Sadie had not assisted, ensuring Sadie's freedom. Nick left town shortly afterwards. Benjie McHugh began a love affair with his married teacher Maggie Roswell ( Robyn Moore ), and eventually went on the run together with Maggie's two sons. Maggie was killed in a car accident while fleeing from her husband. Clive Starr accepted that Declan

16512-552: Was straight and there could be no romance between them, moving on to Adam Sheldrake (Vince Leigh). Adam was a policeman, who was in the closet for fear that being bisexual could affect his career. Adam soon found himself attracted to Clive's flatmate Gabby Johnson. Adam's ex-wife and daughter then arrived, further complicating Adam's relationship with Clive and his affair with Gabby. Siobhan Jones became closely associated with Pete Callan, then her sister Julie-Ann moved in. Julie-Ann started pursuing Pete, an endeavour which ended with

16641-576: Was the first club owner to gain a fully nude licence from Westminster City Council . In 2009, he criticised the Policing and Crime Act 2009 , saying the licensing changes with regards to lap dancing were "unnecessary" and he would be appealing to the European Court of Human Rights if his current licences were not renewed. In 2012, he was granted the necessary sexual entertainment venue (SEV) Licence for Stringfellow's Covent Garden and Angels Soho, and

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