Soaps have fallen off their pedestal – ITV’s shock changes to Corrie and Emmerdale could save them, says former star

SOAP prima Ross Adams reckons the melodramatic shake-up successful ITV’s schedules could prevention our soaps. 

Coronation Street and Emmerdale fans were shellshocked erstwhile the transmission announced it was slashing episodes from 2026 and feared the worst for their beloved shows.

But Ross, who is champion known for playing Scott Drinkwell connected Hollyoaks from 2015 to 2024 but started retired arsenic a runner connected Corrie successful 2010, believes the determination could BOOST ailing viewing figures aft the once-loved shows person “fallen disconnected their pedestal”.

From next year, the transmission volition marque an hr little soap contented a week and aerial Corrie and Emmerdale arsenic 2 back-to-back, 30 infinitesimal episodes amid a fund crisis. 

Ross, 41, said: “I really anticipation that this volition springiness them their peculiar prime back. 

“I consciousness similar implicit the past mates of years, I don’t cognize if it has thing to bash with COVID and the information that radical are watching telly differently, but I consciousness similar the soaps haven’t been connected the pedestal that they erstwhile were.

“Long word it volition support the shows. It volition support their legacy.

“I consciousness similar it volition dependable the vessel and I deliberation really it volition amended viewing figures. 

“I conscionable spell backmost to erstwhile I watched it was a kid, it was connected astatine 7.30pm, we would beryllium down and ticker Corrie from fractional 7 to 8 o’clock and loads would happen.

“I deliberation if radical spot that it’s an hour-long occurrence I mightiness not person the clip to ticker a afloat episode. But if it’s fractional an hr - without the adverts it’s similar 20 minutes of your clip - which doesn’t consciousness similar specified a large commitment. 

“Maybe that’s what puts radical disconnected watching, due to the fact that they mightiness not person clip to beryllium and ticker for an hour. But 23 minutes, radical person clip to bash that. 

“I deliberation radical volition go invested again and tune in.”

After starting retired connected soaps arsenic a Corrie runner, Ross past became a PA to the soap’s apical brag Phil Collinson - who led the soap done the celebrated tram clang for its 50th anniversary. 

In 2013 helium moved to Emmerdale wherever helium spent 18 months arsenic a storyliner. He was promoted to publication exertion aft 18 months and stayed successful the colony until helium got the relation of Scott connected Hollyoaks successful 2015.

It means Ross knows his stuff. 

He added: “Soaps person to change, they person to germinate with the assemblage and the mode successful which radical are watching telly, but astatine Hollyoaks, for example, wherever they went integer first, viewing figures person improved and the amusement has go stronger.”

Ross has been done redundancy himself, aft losing his occupation connected Hollyoaks past year. 

He’s present starring connected Channel 5’s deed play The Good Ship Murder, playing the ship’s amusement manager Colin Smallwood.

He added: “Obviously it’s atrocious for the radical whose jobs are astatine risk, due to the fact that I retrieve the gathering we were called into astatine Hollyoaks, wherever they reduced the output by 2 episodes and besides shortened the occurrence length. 

“For radical similar me, a bluish actor, I wasn’t from a household with money truthful the opportunities for maine to enactment successful telly were truly limited. 

“If it wasn’t for soap the opportunities would beryllium adjacent less for radical similar me. 

“And for the viewers, they tin entreaty to truthful galore people, nary substance what your property oregon background, you tin beryllium down, ticker a soap, and you volition ever spot thing that you tin resonate with. 

“They are truthful important and it would interruption my bosom if we mislaid that. They are truthful special.”