today, the show averages between 4 and 6 million per episode, much of it through iplayer. so do soaps matter any more? what s their place in the cultural landscape? are we going through a messy den and angie divorce with them? or is it still enduring love, like scott and charlene? i m joined by sir phil redmond, creator of three of the biggest british soaps of all time grange hill, brookside and hollyoa ks. daniel kilkenny is soaps editor for entertainment news website digital spy. tv critic and soap fan emma bullimore is here, and charles collingwood, who s been farming, flirting and digging into his wife s venison pie for a whopping 47 years as brian in the archers. welcome to you all and thanks for coming on the show. phil, if we start with you, all the big soaps eastenders, coronation street, emmerdale have seen huge drops in audience numbers in recent years. you ve criticised soaps for not tackling big social issues like they used to. do you think it s the end of t