Im not going to come up with numbers but heres my tuppence worth.
coronation street
To the untrained eye, Richard Hillman was rubbish. However I thought he was brilliant! The part is written as a pantomime villain so thats how he played it and he did a fantastic job. He must be playing Abanazar in Panto this year somewhere surely! I'd love to see that.
karen macdonald is a classic soap 'bitch' in the Pat Phoenix vein. 'Tina Dingle' obviously tried to fill that position but failed miserably. The acting isnt oscar material, but it doesnt need to be when the character works as well as it does. Although if marisa tomei(?!?) or catherine zeta jones(?!?) can win, anyone can in my book.
eastenders
In defense of Sam Mitchell Version2, she is much better than that cokeaddled slag they had before. I mean that in the nicest possibel way
Her Cockernee accent is a bit dubious but if you have heard her put of character, her subdued home counties tones dont lend well to walford. I dont forsee her staying at eastenders for too long. She'll be the next Anna Friel, You wait and see.
Phil Mitchell annoys me while the actor himself irritates me. A great nasty soap villain is one thing but a dull uncharismatic thug like Phil just grates.
Ian Beale isn't a villain but he isn't sweetness and light. He is a good character well played. He is a grey character where you arent sure what he might do. There is depth to him that many actors would kill to play.
I love Barry. Shaun Williamson is a talented man. He does comedy best but unlike some other comedy characters, he can pull off the meaty storylines when needs be. It was wrong to axe him. But if Roy isnt around then there isnt much for him in walford do it wont be hard to write him out. Shaun is a great singer but a popstar he aint. Id like to see him try tho, Rickay had a go didnt he? Which was pure comedy.
The slaters were cast together because they had great chemistry. I think therein lies their appeal. They might not be brilliant individually but they spar off against other sensationally. Kudos to eastenders!
Emmerdale;
The chap that plays Marlon Dingle could go on have a decent career after soap. He was Derek Jacobi's sidekick in Cadfael. Think Morse's Lewis, as a monk.
Diane is great. I still can't get away from the mental image of her as T-Bag on CITV. She was a nasty piece of work in that. Boo! Hiss!
The new girl, Debbie is quite promising. She'll go far. I sometimes think that when it comed to casting pre-teens or younger children, Soaps tend to be more strict. Andy is one of the best actors in emmerdale and he started when he was 11 or something. Just goes to show. I think what it comes down to is, young actors are expensive to maintain, so are viewed as an investment. After 16 then it doesnt matter if they can act, its whether they look good.
Hollyoaks' Max Cunningham started when he was 12 or something. Not exactly a pinup, especially considering Hollyoaks (questionable) casting but could outact half of the cast given the chance.
