Soaps have fallen off their pedestal – ITV’s shock changes to Corrie and Emmerdale could save them, says former star
SOAP star Ross Adams reckons the dramatic shake-up in ITV’s schedules could save our soaps.
Coronation Street and Emmerdale fans were shellshocked when the channel announced it was slashing episodes from 2026 and feared the worst for their beloved shows.
But Ross, who is best known for playing Scott Drinkwell on Hollyoaks from 2015 to 2024 but started out as a runner on Corrie in 2010, believes the move could BOOST ailing viewing figures after the once-loved shows have “fallen off their pedestal”.
From next year, the channel will make an hour less soap content a week and air Corrie and Emmerdale as two back-to-back, 30 minute episodes amid a budget crisis.
Ross, 41, said: “I actually hope that this will give them their special quality back.
“I feel like over the last couple of years, I don’t know if it has anything to do with COVID and the fact that people are watching telly differently, but I feel like the soaps haven’t been on the pedestal that they once were.
“Long term it will protect the shows. It will protect their legacy.
“I feel like it will steady the ship and I think actually it will improve viewing figures.
“I just go back to when I watched it was a kid, it was on at 7.30pm, we would sit down and watch Corrie from half seven to eight o’clock and loads would happen.
“I think if people see that it’s an hour-long episode I might not have the time to watch a full episode. But if it’s half an hour – without the adverts it’s like 20 minutes of your time – which doesn’t feel like such a big commitment.
“Maybe that’s what puts people off watching, because they might not have time to sit and watch for an hour. But 23 minutes, people have time to do that.
“I think people will become invested again and tune in.”
After starting out on soaps as a Corrie runner, Ross then became a PA to the soap’s top boss Phil Collinson – who led the soap through the famous tram crash for its 50th anniversary.
In 2013 he moved to Emmerdale where he spent 18 months as a storyliner. He was promoted to script editor after 18 months and stayed in the village until he got the role of Scott on Hollyoaks in 2015.
It means Ross knows his stuff.
He added: “Soaps have to change, they have to evolve with the audience and the way in which people are watching telly, but at Hollyoaks, for example, where they went digital first, viewing figures have improved and the show has become stronger.”
Ross has been through redundancy himself, after losing his job on Hollyoaks last year.
He’s now starring on Channel 5’s hit drama The Good Ship Murder, playing the ship’s entertainment director Colin Smallwood.
He added: “Obviously it’s awful for the people whose jobs are at risk, because I remember the meeting we were called into at Hollyoaks, where they reduced the output by two episodes and also shortened the episode length.
“For people like me, a northern actor, I wasn’t from a family with money so the opportunities for me to work in telly were really limited.
“If it wasn’t for soap the opportunities would be even fewer for people like me.
“And for the viewers, they can appeal to so many people, no matter what your age or background, you can sit down, watch a soap, and you will always see something that you can resonate with.
“They are so important and it would break my heart if we lost that. They are so special.”
Soap's most harrowing teen storylines
We take a look at other harrowing teen soap storylines from soaps Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.
Belle Dingle’s schizophrenia in Emmerdale – Belle’s (Eden Taylor-Draper) traumatic journey in Emmerdale took a dark turn when, after accidentally killing her best friend Gemma at just 16, her mental health began to spiral.
The storyline, which saw Belle struggling with her grief and guilt, showcased her battle with hearing Gemma’s voice inside her head, leading to a dramatic decline in her well-being.
Hannah Ashworth’s anorexia in Hollyoaks – Viewers were horrified as they watched Hannah (Emma Rigby), a seemingly innocent teen, spiral into dangerous behavior, starving herself in an attempt to achieve what she thought was the ideal body.
As Hannah’s condition worsened, the storyline became more intense, culminating in her being hospitalised for two months as she fought for her life.
Bethany Platt’s grooming ordeal in Coronation Street – Vulnerable schoolgirl, played by Lucy Fallon, was at the centre of one of Corrie’s darkest storylines to date when she fell under the spell of her older boyfriend and sexual predator.
The controversial scenes saw Nathan groom and manipulate the 16-year-old before coercing her into sleeping with his friends, with one of them raping her.
Whitney Dean’s abuse from Tony in EastEnders – Since the age of 12, she had been in a twisted relationship with her stepmum Bianca’s boyfriend, Tony King. The predator had groomed young Whit (Shona McGarty), making her believe she was in love and planning to run away with him.
On her 16th birthday, the traumatised teen finally revealed the years of abuse to Bianca. Tony was swiftly sent to prison sentenced for 13 years.