Britain’s three biggest soaps are all set in different parts of the country, but each one has its own boozer. So why is this so important when it comes to soapy drama?
A natural meeting place
The soaps all have different families and they need sets where they can come together, so what better place than a pub? It means that characters that wouldn’t usually cross paths can, in a natural way. It also provides a meeting point for friends to go and talk. Or for colleagues to go and gossip after work.
You can make any combination of characters chatting seem plausible if they are down the pub, so this means that the writers have plenty of options.
A place to party
A pub provides a great backdrop for a party. It’s a place where residents can come together, have a drink and let their hair down. This often adds a fun element to the soaps, as we can watch the characters having a laugh with others. It can provide a nice contrast to darker stories that are often playing out.
A place to work
Soap characters need to earn a living like any other characters and the pub is a handy employer. It’s a good place to introduce new characters and it provides a place to explore new dynamics of established characters.
Love can blossom
Soap characters tend to date one another, so the pub is the perfect place for love to blossom. They can eye one another up over the bar, get chatting over a bottle of wine, or have a dance at a resident’s birthday party.
Iconic places
The Rovers Return, The Queen Vic and The Woolpack are all iconic and they have become synonymous with Corrie, EastEnders and Emmerdale. You couldn’t remove these pubs because they’re at the heart of the soaps. They are true pillars of the set.
Landlord and landladies
The soaps often place some of their most loved characters at the heart of the pub. Being a landlady or a landlord of one of these venues is seen as something of an honour for the actors that are chosen. The drama often revolves around the family that run the pub, so the choice of pub owner is very important.
My favourite boozer
I wouldn’t mind going for a drink at The Rovers Return, The Queen Vic or The Woolpack. But I would especially like to have a pint and a hotpot down at The Rovers. This is probably because I am from Salford (where Corrie is set) and that is the kind of pub I like to frequent.
Which pub would you choose to visit for a drink?