I have every single issue of Inside Soap! Steve Marshall, Reader
As thrilled as we are to have produced 1000 issues, finding a cupboard big enough to store them over the years has proved tricky. So we have a lot of admiration for one loyal reader, Steve, who has every last edition boxed away underneath his stairs!
Hi, Steve! Is it fair to assume that you are Inside Soap’s No 1 fan?
Well, I’m not sure you were quite expecting anyone to come forward and say that they had every issue! When I bought the first one, I remember thinking, ‘This is brilliant’ as there was nothing else like it on the market.
What drew you to buy that very first edition in 1992?
I was pretty much a total soap junkie. My earliest memory of them is probably sat watching
Emmerdale with my mum, who was a massive fan of the show. I was only young at the time, and my parents took me to the farm at Leathley and the village Esholt, and I remember walking around thinking, ‘Wow, this is where all the filming takes place’!
How did your passion for soaps develop?
For me it was a case of, ‘How can I get close?’ so I joined the
Emmerdale fan club. We all meet at a hotel in Leeds for the weekend and ITV does a fantastic job of taking us to the studios and the village. I’ve also had some behind-the-scenes access, too. Back in 2006, a group of us watched the crew construct the building for the big King show home collapse!
Have you met many of the actors?
It’s funny – on the weekends I work as a guide for the official
set tour, so lots of the visitors that we show around ask me that! I think one of the nicest stars is Chris Chittell, who plays
Eric Pollard. What I admire about him most is that he always says, “Without the fans of the show, we are nothing”, and he always makes the time if people ask for an autograph and a photo. Emmerdale
What still brings you to our magazine each week?
You have all of the soaps in one place. Even if I’m not watching them all, I can flick through and keep up to date!
What is the ultimate dream for a soap super fan?
I have three things on my bucket list – to be an extra in Emmerdale, to direct or produce an episode of the show – and to present the soap section on ITV’S This Morning. Who knows? If you pursue your dreams and set your mind to it, they may well come true!