Since its debut in 2000, Doctors has followed the fictional lives of NHS doctors, nurses, and receptionists, as well as their families and friends. Alongside these continuing story lines, they also have a story of the week which focuses on a patient and their individual life, usually for a one or two episode arc.
British soaps have made huge strides in portraying the lives and loves of gay characters since the genre’s first on-screen kiss in EastEnders three decades ago.
After jumping ship from Hollyoaks to Emmerdale, MacLeod explains his excitement at bringing new ideas to the Yorkshire-based soap.
“I’m always looking for ways to do something differently or surprise the audience with something they haven’t thought of before,” he says.
And that he did. During a week-long storyline, which was ten months in the making, the small village turned to chaos when a multi-car pile up left viewers guessing who would exit the soap, with central characters at the heart of one of the biggest disasters in Emmerdale history.
"Before my grandad died he used to ask me what I was doing and this pained expression would come across his face and he’d say ‘it’s no job for a grown man.’
“I still think it’s not quite the job for a grown man. We just sit and play.”
British TV institution Coronation Street celebrated its 55th birthday in December. After some 8,800 episodes, you might expect the old girl to be a bit doddery on her pins, but the ITV soap is in rude health.
Over the past couple of years, Corrie has fed its viewers a rich diet of murder, death and suicide.
