A top writer has warned TV’s soaps need to make major changes to survive.
Tony Jordan, who pens scripts for EastEnders, is convinced they are all in crisis.
He said: “Soaps are in a pretty poor way. Unless they reinvent themselves, I think they’re in very real trouble.
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“They need to stop and take a breath and think, ‘What does a soap look like in 2025?’ And start aiming for that.”
In recent years EastEnders, Corrie, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale have seen viewing figures drop.
(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Tony is convinced it’s happening because of social media.
He said: “In post-war Britain there was a sense of community. And then television took some of that away.
“In that period, we all looked at Dot Cotton and Den Watts… that’s where we got all our gossip from. Soaps fulfilled that for us.
“But now that space has been stolen by Facebook and social media. That’s where all the gossip is coming from.”
(Image: BBC)
Tony is behind some of EastEnders’ biggest storylines.
His latest project is Death In Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise, which starts next week on BBC One.
He said: “I am a big fan of co-viewing. I think that’s where you get your drama these days. Streamers are a different experience.
“For me, I love it when you have a show like Death In Paradise that will make you laugh out loud and shed a tear.”
(Image: BBC)
Tony was listed as the number one television screenwriter in the United Kingdom by Broadcast magazine in 2008 and among British broadcasting’s top twenty in The Stage in 2009.
For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for EastEnders. and he’s written for the programme since 1989 including the 2008 single-hander “Pretty Baby….” featuring Dot Cotton.
He is considered to be an “elder statesman” of the show for which he has written over 250 episodes as of 2008.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
