Aussie soaps generally get overlooked by some in this country

I wanted the poll to focus primarily on the UK soaps as I wanted to see how they fare against each other. Neighbours is my second favourite soap, so it's not like I am being snobby by not including it.

If you want to see how popular the Aussie soaps are then simply create another poll

EastEnders by a million, zillion miles.

Really? She's possibly the worst actor in Eastenders. One long Steptoe impression. I applaud her for her work ethic (and by all accounts June Brown the person is a nice person) but I think she's a dreadful actor. I'm not saying the two actors you mentioned are better by the way (they're probably as bad) although Barbara Knox was good in earlier episodes of Corrie - far better than JB has been in Eastenders.

You still don't get it, they talking about cast I.E actors and not characters. Now I roll my eyes FFS. Any questions you have that makes the question easier to explain then please don't hesitate to ask. Eastenders are pretty much regarded to have the best and strongest cast in soap, granted they have a few not so good but compared to most the have more good than bad actors on the show.

Eastenders or Emmerdale

Maybe I'm wrong but I'm certain that the o.p is asking who has the best cast and not the best characters, too many people are judging it all on the character side of things and not the cast side of things, I'm reading what everyone is saying and rolling my eyes coz it's obvious that he's asking about cast and not characters and before anyone asks there is a difference between characters and actors.

The only sort of people that can really give an opinion are the people that actually watch all the soaps rather than give biased answers, I mainly watch eastenders even though I sometimes watch corrie and emmerdale and hollyoaks but when I have seen the other 3 the acting ain't up to that of eastenders but I don't watch them enough to give a proper unbiased answer

They are. To be honest though - its a difficult one to answer as some actors can really let down the side down - I suppose the saying 'a chain is only as strong as its weakest link' springs to mind. They all have weak links - some more than others.

That's true, there will always be weak links just hopefully not too many to bring any cast down to having a reputation of having a rubbish cast

You know on reflection - I wish I'd put Emmerdale as I do think it has the best ensemble cast. I've only watched a few episodes of Eastenders lately (when I visit my sister - she watches them all) but I'm just not impressed with any of the actors in it. When I did watch it - I was most impressed by Nina Wadia and at times the young actor who played her son Tamwar. In its earlier days Eastenders had some of the most atrocious acting on display - Anita Dobson was just awful as Angie (that much lauded Christmas episode still has me in stitches of laughter when I see the look on her face as Den/Leslie hands her the divorce papers - I'm still not sure to this day if it was meant to be comedy or straight drama!)

Ask me twelve months ago an I would have said EastEnders hands down, but I think it's slipped behind Emmerdale since then.

Yet that episode was and still is the most watched soap moment ever, it got 30.million viewers, beats the other soaps by miles.

Even though that's true but that's besides the point, you don't get viewing figures in line with acting ability.

I only watch Corrie and Eastenders, Corrie cast is awful at the moment so EE easily wins.

Emmerdale easily-and by far. I only watch the others occasionally, and they are atrociously acted every time I have done.( maybe I've missed the good episodes?) I think a lot of people just watch out of habit.

Oh I'm aware of its viewing figures - still didn't stop the acting by the two main players being woeful. I think the best actor in the soap during its early years was by far Susan Tully - and she's gone on to really brilliant things as a director. I truly admire Susan Tully for not returning to the soap despite numerous requests to do so.

H&A has an amazing core cast with Ray Meagher, Lynne McGranger, Emily Symons, Georgie Parker, Ada Nicodemou and Shane Withington but the rest leave them down

I can only speak for Corrie, therefore I probably shouldn't be allowed an opinion ( though anyone reading my posts will know I'm never short of one of those!! ) but I'm quite prepared to give Corrie my vote as I think, by & large, they have a cast to be proud of, a great mixture of young, old, comic, tragic, strangely eccentric & refreshingly normal characters, played by a set of actors who have been playing those characters long enough to know them inside out!!
But... & it's a huge, massive but.. they are being largely horribly misused by the current powers that be who seem to think it acceptable to undo the whole history the actor has expertly built into their character & reinvent the character just to suit whatever s/l they hspoen to be in at the time!! The biggest example by a mile is the normally reliably excellent Helen Worth as Gail, a character she's patiently & expertly built up over 40+ years, & who has been desecrated from the strong, charismatic, sometimes harsh matriarch of the chaotic Platt family, to become a simpering 'village idiot' character who none of her family respects or even cares about & who acts like she belongs in the nearest mental institution!! There are many others, in fact I could go on all night (nooooo?? I hear you all say ) but that would be drifting away from the thread!!
So yes Corrie for me!! Leave the cast as it is ( barring the odd Antony Cotton type & several of Blackburn's newbies) but change just about everything else that's been put in place by the current team!!

The problem with Corrie is that they have about 10 outstanding actors but the other 50 are crap or mediocre at a push.

Emmerdale by far. I can't think off the top of my head of any character / actor from Emmerdale that I don't like. They all work really well together. They have the strongest cast easily.

Always loyal to EE, but emmerdale come a very close second

I'm glad somebody else has said that because I've always found June hammy and would put Eileen and Barbara above her in terms of acting. Eileen Derbyshire has always been consistent with what she's been given and Barbara Knox could do a perfect blend of natural acting, drama and comedy up until the mid to late 2000s when she seemed to start phoning it in.


Who else bar The_Sleeper has mentioned characters?


Only because that figure (technically unfairly) includes the omnibus broadcast when the other soaps didn't have omnibuses at that time. If the omnibus wasn't broadcast and only the actual original broadcast figure was used, then it would have been 19.5 million for that episode which was nothing that different to what Coronation Street was getting in 1986.

^ The omnibus was included because that was the BARB way of doing things in the 1980s. There's nothing to say that the viewers who watched the omnibus wouldn't have tuned in to the main showing had the omnibus not been there.

Corrie and Hollyoaks have some truly appalling actors.

EastEnders and Emmerdale have the better casts by far.

I think the best ten actors in EastEnders (Lindsey, Adam, Jake, Diane, Lacey, Steve etc.) could absolutely annihilate any other cast in soap, but I think Emmerdale definitely have the best overall cast at the moment. You're guaranteed to have good quality performances in almost every scene.