Did you watch the soaps on TV when you were a child?

[CosyJanuary]

I was having a conversation with someone and I wondered if my experience was normal/typical of the times.

I was born in a he 80s and I always watched the soaps on TV in the evening right from when I was a young child probably age 6-7 and carried on until my teens.

It was a normal thing in my house to put the soaps on if an evening from 7.30pm and he allowed to sit and watch them with mum and dad.

They weren’t really suitable for children and my friend was horrified that I was allowed.

Yes , Brookside, Corrie and Eastenders. As soon as I left home I never watched them again.

Loved Eastenders at the time though

No, my parents didn't watch them so we didn't. I remember seeing neighbours a few times at friends houses during Kylie and Jason mania but that was it. I don't watch soaps now either.

I was born mid-70's, so grew up in the 80's. I remember watching the first episode of EastEnders! We watched Coronation Street and I absolutely loved Neighbours and Home & Away. Charlene and Scott's wedding, remember it like it was yesterday!

Yes definitely.

home & away
neiggbours
emmerdale
corrie
the bill
the upper hand

I tell anyone who cares (and plenty don’t 😂) that I saw the first episode of Neighbours. I was off from school ill for a week and saw the first 5 episodes. I was hooked. I was so happy when they changed the time slot to after 5pm!
My Mum loves her soaps and so I ended up watching most. Dynasty, Dallas, The Colbys and Falcon Crest. Some of the storylines were inappropriate but most went over my head. I remember an episode when Alexis was so angry she threw a massive ash tray at the tv and it smashed. I remember thinking she must have been so rich!

As a soap fiend my mum also watched all the UK ones so we did as a result. I only
got into Corrie later but loved Eastenders. My mum still watches the old episodes on ITV3.

My parents didn’t watch soaps, so we didn’t watch them as a family. That wasn’t because they had any concerns about the content; they just weren’t interested. But everyone I knew whose parents did watch the soaps watched them as a family, and I’m sure we would have done too if my parents has been into them. We watched loads of other adult TV as a family, lots of crime stuff, spy thrillers, dramas, comedies etc.

We always watched the soaps when I was a child, although there weren’t nearly as many back then. I can remember the first episode of Coronation Street, and we used to watch Emergency Ward 10 and Crossroads, and never missed an episode.

I watched Coronation Street with mum. Then a Scottish one called Take the High Road. There was another Scottish soap whose name escapes me. It was partially filmed near where i lived. Emmerdale when it was a farm. Crossroads set in a motel. Neighbours started when i was on maternity leave with my first child. Eastenders naturally and River City which i gave a go. So probably more soaps than i care to recall!

Garnock Way! It didnt last too long

Corrie - and Brookside when it started.

Dallas at the weekend with our weekly trip to the tuck shop to pick a bar of chocolate or 2oz of sweets each to eat while we watched it.

Same. Mum watched it all the time. I had nightmares for ages after the fire episode

Yes from around 6/7 watched neighbours then home and away as well. And probably 10ish when I started watching Corrie, eastenders and emerdale

I forgot Energency Ward 10! I watched that with my gran. Then Angels and Casualty. The Bill and Londons Burning i had to watch either my husband.

Yes Saturday teatimes were spent watching the Brookside omnibus

I also remember watching Roseanne, home improvement, golden girls, black adder, faulty towers, dads army , Allo Allo and comedians like Ben Elton and jasper carrot

Oh and casualty which terrified me

I remember watching Dynasty religiously with my mum from a young age, I was enthralled by Joan Collins' fabulous outfits! I recall going to a friend's house for a sleepover and asking if we'd be watching Dynasty. The answer was a definite no.
Ironically I wasn't allowed to watch Neighbours for a good few years after it started as it was deemed a bad influence.
I was never allowed to watch Home & Away but regularly watched The Bill.
Eastenders was allowed but Brookside, Coronation Street, Emmerdale weren't permitted.
Not sure about how much logic my parents applied to those decisions. I suspect some of it may just have been down to what my mum did/didn't like, and what my dad perceived some of them to be about (especially the Australian soaps).
I haven't actually watched any soaps in nearly 15 years now.

Only at Nanny's house. Mummy and Dad were 'above' the soaps --though Dad always watched over his newspaper if Coronation Street was on 😆

Emmerdale farm
Corrie
Crossroads
Because mum watched them.
I fancied Jill and hated Sandy Richardson.

I was born early 70s and we always watched Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm. I wouldn’t let my kids watch them now.

Home & Away and Neighbours religiously from a similar age. Can't remember how old I was watching the others but probably quite young, Eastenders was the main one I watched. I dont really know how I got out of watching them but I dont watch any now.

Dixon of Dock Green wasn’t a soap.

Evenin’ all.

I was born in the 60s and my mum always watched Corrie so I watched it with her.

We watched Coronation Street for as long as I can remember. I was about 10 when EastEnders started and my dad used to watch that. I haven't watched any of them since I left home, so I can't say it fostered an addiction. The earliest Corrie storyline I remember is Deirdre's affair with Mike Barlow.

I think soaps were tamer back in the 70s/80s than now - Corrie ramped itself up after Eastenders came along. I remember the year Eastenders had the dramatic Christmas episode where Den served Angie with divorce papers, Corrie's offering was Christmas Day with Emily Bishop and Percy Sugden or someone making a fuss about some lost mince pies😆

I meant, of course, Mike Baldwin.