24 Reasons Why Soaps Are Actually The Best Shows On TV

“YOU AIN’T MY MUVVAAA!” “YES I AAAAM!”

Yes, yes, we all know that Breaking Bad is mindblowing brilliant. And I'm just as excited about that new BBC bonnet drama as you are. But what about the unsung heroes of TV? That's right, I'm talking about SOAP OPERAS.

1. Let’s face it, soap operas are an institution.

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I mean, Coronation Street has been running for more than 50 YEARS. It's the longest running soap ever, with 8,962 episodes (and counting)

2. There’s no role more stable for an actor, tbh.

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Which is exactly why Alf Stewart doesn’t leave Summer Bay for a quiet life away from explosions, earthquakes and constant stabbings.

3. Even the theme songs are iconic.

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Who doesn't get hit with nostalgia when they hear the trumpets of Coronation Street, or the swelling strings of Emmerdale? Eastenders' famous "doof doofs" were even paid tribute in the London 2012 Olympic ceremony.

4. And let’s talk about the massive careers soaps have kickstarted.

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Yes, that is Margot Robbie riding on the back of a ute to her wedding in a homemade pink gown. Classic Neighbours.

5. Really, the list of celebrities who started on soaps is never-ending.

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None more so than Neighbours. Ramsay Street has been home to Adelaide Kane, Caitlin Stasey, Liam Hemsworth, Delta Goodrem, Natalie Imbruglia, Holly Valance, Jesse Spencer, Russel Crowe, Guy Pearce, and, of course, Kylie and Jason.

6. No wonder, because soap actors have some serious talent.

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Okay, some of them are pretty awful. But nobody could watch Lacey Turner’s depiction of manic depression in Eastenders, for example, and not agree that soap stars deserve more credit. (Seriously, watch it ^^)

7. 7. Plus, they’re on every night!

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No waiting for an eternity between seasons (like some shows… *cough* Sherlock). Soaps have new episodes five nights a week for most of the year! More time to escape to Summer Bay (where is literally IS always summer).

8. But it doesn’t matter if you miss an episode.

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Or several years. Due to the easily recognisable stock soap characters, the story lines are super easy to catch up on. You can also guess who the evil characters are by how they pose in their head shots – crossed arms and cocked eyebrows are a must.

9. Soaps can also be pretty experimental.

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You would be too, if you had to write hundreds of episodes a year. Who can forget the episode of Eastenders which featured just Dot Cotton (June Brown) delivering a 28 minute monologue?

10. Or the amazing live episodes?

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It gave us the MASTERPIECE that is Jo Joyner fluffing her lines (accidentally calling the character by the actor’s name) before freezing like a dear in headlights. We never did find out how "Adam" was!

11. But let’s be serious for minute. Soaps are pretty groundbreaking.

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Even if the representation isn’t always perfect, soaps are not afraid to explore heavy issues like abortion, abuse, dementia, depression, domestic violence, drug addiction, eating disorders, homophobia, PTSD, teenage pregnancy and stillbirth.

They don’t stick to the stereotypes either – a trailblazing Neighbours storyline saw Ringo struggle with an eating disorder.

12. Their impact can’t be underestimated.

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Take Eastenders, arguably the biggest soap. A HIV storyline in 1999 was so influential that a survey found teenagers got most of their info on the disease from the show. In 2001, a childhood abuse storyline saw calls to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children increase by 60 per cent.

13. And the storylines. They just can’t be topped.

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As unlikely as some of the storylines are (like a tornardo in Erinsborough, for example), nobody does a good plot twist like a soap opera does. Let’s go through some of the highlights…

14. Like when Victoria falls through the ice on Emmerdale…

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… and discovers a dead body in the depths, which later turns out to be murdered police officer Shane. As if nearly drowning in a frozen lake wasn’t enough.

15. Or the answer to “who killed Lucy Beale” on Eastenders.

Dolly LoCo @dollyloco

Can't wait for his mixtape to drop too. Maybe he's gonna feature on Dot Rotten's album. #THUGLIFE #EELive

10:23 PM - 19 Feb 2015

Pretty much all of Watford was up for investigation, except the perpetrator. Little Bobby Beale murdered his sister with a hockey stick because she annoyed him. He later attacked his own mother with said hockey stick… nice kid.

16. Or Stingray’s death on Neighbours.

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After undergoing a bone marrow transplant for sick baby Kerry, bighearted Stingray Timmins silently suffers an aneurism, while the rest of the partygoers dance away (thinking he’s asleep). From his big smile watching his family and friends, to the cameras panning up into the clouds, it’s a definite tearjerker.

17. What about the reveal of Stacey and Max’s affair on Eastenders?

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Max accidentally popped on a secretly recorded DVD of himself kissing Stacey… while everyone was sat around enjoying their Christmas celebrations. It’s always a merry Christmas in Albert Square.

18. Sarah-Lou’s teenage pregnancy on Coronation Street was pretty shocking.

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Gail was worried her 13-year-old daughter Sarah-Louise had an eating disorder after she constantly refused meals, complained about her weight and even started throwing up. But neither expected she was actually five months pregnant. This is why we need sex education, people!

19. And remember Valerie Pollard’s dignified departure in Emmerdale.

ITV / Via youtube.com

HIV sufferer Val Pollard planned to fake her own death… when she got locked inside a hall of mirrors and helicopter crashed nearby, setting off an explosion that trapped her under sheets of glass (yes, this really happened).

With a shard of glass threatening to decapitate her, she lights a cigarette and utters the immortal words, “I'm H-I-Val. I'm Valerie Pollard of the Valerie Pollard Foundation. I’m Val.”

20. Or when Melissa suffered a heart attack on Hollyoaks.

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Hannah and Melissa bonded over their eating disorders, but when Melissa was hospitalised they decided to escape the country together. However, Hannah’s mother discovered their plan and the confrontation – along with long-term body abuse – caused Melissa to have a heart attack and die. It was the first time such serious consequences of eating disorders had been shown on a soap.

21. Newlyweds Toadie and Dee drove off a freaking cliff on Neighbours.

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What a cliffhanger! Ahem... Unfortunately for Toadfish "Never Allowed Happiness" Rebecchi, Dee was never found. But she could still be out there – after all, Harold Bishop disappeared at sea and returned five years later with amnesia. We’re still waiting, Dee.

22. And there was Ronnie FINALLY discovering that Danielle was her daughter on Eastenders…

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Literally minutes before Janine accidentally runs over Danielle, leaving Ronnie to cradle her long lost, dead daughter in her arms. Damn it, Janine!

23. Speaking of secret daughters… what about the BEST soap opera reveal of ALL TIME!

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“YOU AIN’T MY MUVVAAA!” “YES I AAAAM!”

In the heat of the moment, Kat Slater reveals that she is not Zoe’s older sister, but her mother, after she was raped by her uncle at 13. It was one of the most shocking plot twists in soap, nay, TV history.

24. And honestly, these don't even scratch the surface of epic and hilarious miseryfest that is soap.

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I haven't even GOT to that one episode of Neighbours where the resident dog, Bouncer, has a dream sequence about marrying another dog. So iconic.

And if you don't agree that soaps are amazing, well, you know where to go...

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I'll just be over here watching my stories.