The accolade of the greatest British soap of all time has been “unveiled”, with EastEnders narrowly missing out on the top spot ahead of its 40th anniversary.
Betway has announced which British soap opera reigns supreme, and despite the BBC soap marking four decades since it first hit our screens in 1985, it’s Coronation Street that has clinched the title of the best soap.
As EastEnders prepares for its landmark anniversary, fresh research from Betway suggests that the Walford-based drama isn’t the nation’s favourite.
Using a unique index score that takes into account award wins and nominations, on-screen deaths, marriages, and divorces per episode, Google search volume, and overall ratings – where a lower score indicates a higher rank – Coronation Street came out on top.
Despite having only six award wins and fewer Google searches (578,940,028) compared to EastEnders, Coronation Street excelled with 17 award nominations and the highest viewer rating among soaps at 5.6/10 according to the Manchester Evening News.
The show also leads with the most episodes aired (11,456) and weddings (108) since it began in 1960. Emmerdale, another ITV contender, was hot on its heels, securing more award nominations at 18 but falling behind with a lower viewer rating of 4.9/10 and fewer Google searches (455,620,028).
However, the show holds the record for the second-highest number of episodes and the highest number of deaths (50.2) and divorces (53.87) compared to any other soap opera. EastEnders clinched third place on the list, with 12 award wins and an overall rating of 4.7/10.
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Although the BBC soap didn’t have as many deaths (171), weddings (56) or divorces (35), it did top the chart with the highest number of Google searches at 1,548,040,90. Hollyoaks came last on the list with only two award wins but had 20 award nominations in total.
Despite having only 5,987 episodes since its debut in 1995, the Channel 4 drama has certainly delivered plenty of action, securing first place with the highest death count at 261. A special hour-long episode is scheduled to air tonight (Wednesday, February 19) to commemorate the show’s 40th anniversary as the aftermath of the Queen Vic explosion is set to change lives forever.