Washed-up? Wednesday
There was a bleak warning for soapland on Wednesday. Neighbours’ Paul Robinson, real name Stefan “don’t mention that pop flop” Dennis, has warned British soaps could be axed if they don’t embrace streaming services. Corrie, EastEnders and the rest are already available on demand, but he could still be on to something. Maybe to attract the apparently much-needed younger demographic, our soaps need to reflect more Gen-Z tech and trends in their storylines?
So how about... Phil Mitchell becomes TikTok famous for his “pranks” on Ian Beale; soap’s most married man, Steve McDonald, launches a hit wedding-planning podcast; Ken Barlow flogs feet pics on OnlyFans to pay spiralling care-home fees; and the shock new landlord of The Queen Vic turns out to be a blast from the pastturned Instagram multi-millionaire... petfluencer Wellard.
Throw in some ABBA-style holograms of Den and Angie back behind the bar, and the soaps will have more of those desirable younger viewers than a Kardashian make-up tutorial.