Last week the British Soap Awards celebrated the success of some of our favorite television shows and best loved characters.
EastEnders won Best British Soap for the second year in a row and Pam St. Clement, who played Pat Butcher for 26 years, was given the Lifetime Achievement award. Best Actor went to Danny Miller, who plays Emmerdale’s Aaron Livesy, and Best Actress went to Alison King who plays Coronation Street’s Carla Connor. Coronation Street also won Best Single Episode for Becky’s Final Farewell, and we’re sure thousands of you were tuned in when it first aired on January 23rd.
Whether you’re a Corrie fan or you prefer Emmerdale over EastEnders, we all love a soap opera. As we celebrate Buy As You View’s 40th birthday this year, we’ve decided to take a nostalgic look back at the last 40 years of British soap.
Back in 1972 when Buy As You View was first established, Coronation Street had been on our television sets for just 12 years. The early 70s was a difficult time for the show’s production team as many of the core cast members left suddenly either due to illness or for another job. Longstanding characters such as Bet Lynch, Ivy Tilsley, Deidre Hunt and Rita Littlewood were developed in this period, whereas now familiar faces such as Gail Platt, Sally Webster and Roy Cropper were yet to appear on our screens.
The very first episode of Emmerdale was aired in the same year that Buy As You View was set up, opening with the funeral of Jacob Sugden on 16 October 1972. In this first episode, Jacob’s son Jack returns to inherit his father’s farm, despite not having seen his family since leaving Emmerdale for London eight years previously.
For many soap fans it’s hard to image a time without EastEnders, but this was the case when Buy As You View first began back in 1972, as our most popular British soap wasn’t on air for another 14 years. Hollyoaks and Doctors are the most recent soap operas to be shown on our television sets, having begun in 1995 and 2000 respectively.
If all this telly talk has got you thinking about upgrading so that you can watch your favorite soap in top quality, with a brilliant picture and perfect sound, check out some of the fantastic products on our website.
Great Value Flat Screen TVs!
We’ve got something to suit everyone, from large flat screens to state of the art 3D TVs, and our range of high-contrast, high-definition Finlux TVs come in sizes to suit all budgets, from 22” to 55”. We can also get you kitted out with all the extras, from DVD players to stands and home theater packages.
In the meantime, why not leave a comment below to let us know which is your favorite soap and why? We will also be running a favorite soaps pool on our Facebook page so why not get involved?
