I went to a residential college for the disabled in 1991, and as we only had the four channels, I began to watch Emmerdale and Corrination Street, one of the care workers I was fond off was a big Corrination Street fan, and many nights, She would sit on my bed and watch it.

Before that, I used to be home a lot from school, so would often watch Shortland Street, A Country Practice and Sons & Daughters. Used to watch Neighbours at my grans, and my Grandfather would phone her up from at 1.45 and sing the neighbours tune to her.

But on the sentence, Neighbours become good friends, he would sing Neighbours, have great punch ups.

Loved loved loved Brookside, was devastated when that got axed, I stayed with it all the way, even on the odd occasion when it would start at like 11.30pm on a Tuesday Night

Since 19th February 1985 when Angie and Den Watts walked into my life.

Forgot my first soap memory was the Crossroads Motel Fire, that really put th poo poos up me

My first soap memory is Alan Bradley being killed by the Tram in Corrie.

Can also recall copying the Neighbours titles. There was a cricket ball smashing Mrs Mangle's window; I improvised at home by throwing a stone through ours. Oops!

I'm 33 now and I say I have been watching since I was about 7- initially getting home from school to watch Home and Away and Neighbours, The Jordache saga in Broookside- Emmerdale to see what Kim Tate would do next lol Over on Eastenders I remember when Marin Fowler was a baby- but my better memories were probably in the early nighties.

Corrie was always more of my parents fave but I have enjoyed many of it's storylines over the years also!

Oh I also remember watching a soap called "Sons and Daughters" years and years ago but I don't remember anything about it now lol

I remember the Kim Tate stuff and the brookside stuff too. Was that in the mid nineties? We were not huge fans of brookie in our house though.

Kim Tate first appeared in 1989 but the bulk of her really bad best bits probably occurred from 94/95 until her exit in 1999.

In Brookside the Jordache body under the patio stuff ran from about 1993-1995

Home and away was the first soap I ever watched. I've watched that since 1988 when I was 5/6

I've started watching corrie and Eastenders in the early 90s. I also remember when Hollyoaks began

Emmerdale I started getting into in the 2000s

Rubbish I put the wrong answer I should have said 16-20 years

I have watched for a very long time as indicated in the poll, to me soaps are just something to watch at the time I am sitting down and relaxing in the evening if something else was on I would quite easily have that on or if I have something else to do instead of watch TV then I would do that and not worry about missing watching a soap, another words they are not the be all and end all of my life.

I think that can be said for most people on here. Its pure escapism and nothing more.

I have only been a dedicated watcher for about 25 years.

I remember watching Corrie when I was very young but I don't watch it anymore and I became an avid viewer of EE around about the Trevor and Little Mo story but I'd seen the odd episode here and there before that.

28 years as I remember watching Neighbours in 1988.

I'm a really nosey person NDD, I love a good life story

I have watched them since the first episode of Coronation Street and the only one I have never seen is Hollyoaks. Watched all the Australian ones plus Peyton Place, Dallas and Dynasty and been to most of the sets both here and in Oz and at the moment am watching Eldorado on youtube (been to that set as well as it was near me).

I thought you were in your twenties

You old charmer

Not sure you are NDDs type though.

You are gonna have to get your blOnde wig out if you are after NDD

Even I knew NDD was older than you

Given that one of my earliest memories is of watching The Cedar Tree with my mum after she'd finished work and picked me up from Nursery (so pre school age which would be 41 years ago), I've had to say 41-50 years even though I'm only 45!

I remember watching The first episode of Dallas when i would have been about 8 and every episode (barring holidays, pre video days) until the end. Same with Knots Landing, Dynasty and sons and Daughters which I just got in from school in time for.

Re UK soaps, Corrie from about 1981, emmerdale from about 82, Brookside, EE, Hollyoaks from their starts.

Basically, I've watched them and they have been one of my main ways of relaxing pretty much my entire life.

I do have other interests, friends, career and stuff as well though - honestly. I'm good at time management.

On and Off for many years.

EE is the only one I watch religiously and I only came back to that in September 2014 after about 18 months away.

CS / ED - if there is a big storyline I will watch and if someone has it on, I'll watch it out of habit.

When I was younger, I used to watch the lot bar Home and Away. I haven't seen Neighbours since 2008 when that Bridget ruined it.

May have watched these a bit earlier than stated but these are the first story-lines I can remember

Eastenders - mid-1986 (probably the death of Tom Clements)
Coronation Street - mid-1986 (the first Rover's fire)
Emmerdale - mid-1986 (Birth of Robert Sugden and death of Pat)
Crossroads - unable to date but most likely mid-1986 same as the bigi three (I can remember some guff featuring Benny and Miss Diane but not what the guff was so unable to date accurately)
Neighbours - 1988 (birth of Jaime Clarke)
Home and Away (Death of Phillip Mattheson)

Brookside - mid-1995 (halfway trough the Trevor Jordache murder/body under the patio storyline)
Sunset Beach - early 1997 (first ever episode)
Family Affairs - early 1997 (first ever episode)

Days of Our Lives - early 2000 (Bo and Hope/Gina's wedding)
Hollyoaks - late 2002 (Theo and Jamie's potholing accident)
General Hospital - late 2013 (introduction of Nathan West)

Of those that are still on air I only watch EE and DOOL religiously and ED occasionally. No longer watch CS, GH and HO

I remember my mom watching All My Children and One Life To Live when I was really little in the late 80's but I started watching both shows on my own in the summer of '93 when I got sick with Salmonella and couldn't do anything but lie in bed. I only watched them while I was off of school then in 95 after realizing I was missing out on a lot of story I started taping them on a daily basis.

As for the UK soaps I started watching Corrie at the end of 2012 when they added it to Hulu and so began my love of British Soaps.

I have memories of soaps from a very young age. I can remember Tracy Barlow's pushchair being buried under rubble at the Rovers. I can also vividly remember as a small child screeching throughout an entire episode of Corrie because I wanted to see Tracy and somehow my mum managed to not put me through the wall. This is also proof that you should be careful what you wish for.

However, my regular soap viewing began with Brookside. Brookside, EastEnders, Neighbours and Home and Away were the soaps I watched right from the start. At one time I think I must have watched pretty much every soap going, it was ridiculous. My mum would video the daytime ones for me while I was at school.

My own daughter is the same age now as I must have been when I got into Brookside. She likes watching the odd episode of H&A but is nowhere near a soap addict. Now Strictly on the other hand...