A soap opera, or soap for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by “Horse opera”.
Louise Berridge is a British historical fiction writer. She was previously a television producer and script editor, her most famous post being the executive producer of BBC's EastEnders between 2002 to 2004. During her tenure, the long-running soap opera received heavy media criticism and ratings slumped to just over 6 million viewers.
Compact was a British television soap opera shown by BBC Television from January 1962 to July 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling; the partnership devised Crossroads while Compact was still running. In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took viewers into the office, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Sarah Kemp was an Australian-born actress, who started her acting career in the United Kingdom, she was best known for starring in the Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters, playing the character of dizzy socialite Charlie Bartlett, from 1982 to 1987.
Helen Raynor is a Welsh television screenwriter and script editor from Swansea. She is best known for her work on the relaunched BBC science fiction series Doctor Who. She previously worked as a theatre director. Besides television episodes, Raynor has written theatrical plays, radio plays, and short stories.
Susan Harris is an American television writer and producer, creator of Emmy Award-winning sitcoms Soap (1977–1981) and The Golden Girls (1985–1992). Between 1975 and 1998, Harris was one of the most prolific television writers, creating 13 comedy series. In 2011, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
Briony Behets is an English-Australian actress who found fame acting in Australian soap operas of the 1970s and 1980s
Colleen Carlton is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network, last portrayed by Tammin Sursok. The character was born during the March 5, 1992, episode as the daughter of Brad Carlton and Traci Abbott. After leaving the soap opera three years later, the character returned as a teenager in 2001, portrayed by Lyndsy Fonseca, who remained in the role until 2005. The following year, the role was recast with Adrianne León, who portrayed the character for a year until Sursok took over. Sursok exited the role in 2009, following the death of the character. In 2010, an uncredited actress reprised the role in a dream.
Michele Val Jean is an American television writer on the CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
Karen Harris is an American television writer for the ABC Daytime serial General Hospital.
Betty Quin was an Australian playwright, script writer and series script editor who contributed to numerous soap operas in her native Australia.
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In prime time series this function is generally performed by an executive producer, who may also be called the showrunner, as in some of the long series that have been produced since the late 20th century in the United States.
Donald Gordon Battye was an Australian composer, writer and television producer, best known for his work with Crawford Productions and Reg Grundy Organisation.
Nancy Williams Watt is an American writer known for her work on television soap operas. She was born in Brooklyn, NY on June 9, 1948, to Associated Press editor Edward Williams and newswoman Sheila O'Brien Williams Barnes.
Susan Bower is an Australian television producer and television writer best known for her work on the soap opera Neighbours. Bower is also the founder of the production company Bower Bird Productions.
Lynnette Margaret Bayonas was an Australian television producer and writer. Her sister was Neighbours executive producer Susan Bower.
Days of Our Lives is an American television daytime soap opera broadcast on NBC. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965. A co-production of Corday Productions and Sony Pictures Television, the series was created by husband-and-wife team Ted Corday and Betty Corday. During Days of Our Lives' early years, Irna Phillips served as a story editor for the program and many of the show's earliest storylines were written by William J. Bell, who would depart the series in 1975 to focus full-time on The Young and the Restless, which he created for CBS in 1973. Following the 2007 cancellation of Passions, Days of Our Lives remains the only soap opera airing on NBC.
Hazel Joyce Marriott, née Willett, known professionally as Hazel Adair, was a British actress turned screenwriter and creator of soap operas for radio and television. She is best known for co-creating Crossroads with Peter Ling.
Jason Herbison is an Australian television producer, screenwriter and novelist, he is currently serving as the executive producer of the soap opera Neighbours. He has written scripts for numerous television serials, and has published several novels.
Sarah Dollard is an Australian television screenwriter, living and working in the United Kingdom. She made her start in writing for television on the long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours, before moving to the UK in 2008. She created and wrote the Welsh romantic comedy series Cara Fi, which debuted on S4C in 2014. In December 2020 it was announced that Dollard would adapt Frances Hardinge's supernatural horror novel Cuckoo Song for Netflix. She is Emmy nominated for her work as a Producer on Bridgerton.
