Have our favourite soaps lost the plot?

HOW I agree that the TV soaps have lost their way (Letters). As a long-time viewer of Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale, I decided to go cold turkey. To my surprise, it’s been painless. Frankly, these shows have been depressing to watch at a time when we need entertainment. I do appreciate Covid has placed restrictions on the actors and writers, but the storylines feature too much thuggery, violence, shouting and crying. Soaps have never been afraid to tackle emotive subjects, but it used to be tempered with humour to give you a good chuckle. I hate to think what Christmas cliffhanger plotlines are starting now.

JEAN McNAMARA, Greenhithe, Kent. AFTER watching Coronation Street for 60 years, enough is enough. It’s no longer a soap, it’s a load of lather, with ridiculous characters and stories, no comedy and just misery.

M. BLOOM, Rustington, W. Sussex. CORONATION Street has deteriorated with implausible storylines. Three characters managed to secure jobs in their own street on the same day. In this time of Covid, millions have little chance of finding work. The writers need to get real.

VAL PRESTAGE, Felixstowe, Suffolk.

I WATCH classic episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale, which are so much better than today’s offerings. A. STOTEN, Bexhill-on-Sea, E. Sussex. I HAVE listened to The Archers for 55 years and used to love how it reflected the rhythms of farming and country life. It gradually changed over time, but always retained that farming core. But now that has been replaced by metropolitan, politically correct storylines. It’s like EastEnders with the occasional ‘moo’! Bring back the real Archers.