As a longtime viewer of British television, I have to say, watching those soap operas – Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders, and Hollyoaks – feels like watching family. With nearly two centuries of airtime between them – a staggering 188 years! – and over 36,000 episodes, it’s no wonder the actors have become recognizable faces in homes across the country. They’re practically part of the national furniture at this point.
As a critic, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much time we actually spend with these TV characters. Honestly, with shows releasing episodes so constantly, it feels like we know them better than some of our real-life friends – and we’re with them more often each week, too!
William Roache, famous for playing Ken Barlow on Coronation Street since the very first episode on December 9th, 1960, is undoubtedly one of the longest-running television actors of all time.
Considering Coronation Street didn’t start airing three episodes a week until 1989 – 29 years after it began – how does its growth compare to EastEnders, which added a third weekly episode after only 9 years?
And how do the actors compare with their co-stars?
Coronation Street characters episode count
Coronation Street is the world’s longest-running TV soap opera, having aired over 11,771 episodes. In 2020, actor William Roache was celebrated for playing a single character for the longest continuous period in television history.
With Ken appearing in fewer episodes lately, is it possible another character might take his place as the main focus of the show?
1. William Roache as Ken Barlow, 4924 episodes since 1960
2. Helen Worth as Gail Chadwick, 4606 episodes between 1974 and 2025
3. Barbara Knox as Rita Tanner, 3983 episodes since 1964
4. Sally Dynevor as Sally Metcalfe, 3934 episodes since 1986
5. Simon Gregson as Steve McDonald, 3828 episodes since 1989
6. Michael Le Vell as Kevin Webster, 3867 episodes since 1983
7. Sue Nicholls as Audrey Roberts, 3456 episodes since 1979
8. Anne Kirkbride as Deirdre Barlow, 3346 episodes between 1972 and 2014
9. Eileen Derbyshire as Emily Bishop, 3303 episodes between 1961 and 2019
Okay, so when it comes to long-running characters, David Platt is way up there. He’s been a part of the show since 1990, appearing in over 3,194 episodes! It’s been two actors bringing him to life – Thomas Ormson played him for the first 364 episodes, and then Jack P. Shepherd took over and has been portraying David for an incredible 2,820 episodes. That’s dedication to a role, and a testament to how popular the character is!
Emmerdale characters episode count
Chris Chittell has been playing the character Pollard on Emmerdale for nearly 40 years, but the popularity of the Dingle family – especially since the 1990s – has surged. Now, six members of the Dingle clan are among the show’s ten most popular characters, bumping Pollard from the top spot.
The show began as a daytime drama about farm life on October 16, 1972, centering around the Sugden family and their home. However, only one original family member is still featured on the show today.
Interestingly, the characters Cain and Paddy Dingle only appeared in episodes that were ten apart from each other.
There have been 10,487 episodes to date.
1. Mark Charnock as Marlon Dingle, 3956 episodes since 1996
2. Lucy Pargeter as Chas Dingle, 3521 episodes since 2002
3. Chris Chittell as Eric Pollard, 3473 episodes since 1986
4. Jeff Hordley as Cain Dingle, 3320 episodes since 2000
5. Dominic Brunt as Paddy Dingle, 3310 episodes since 1997
6. Emma Atkins as Charity Dingle, 3145 episodes since 2000
7. Tony Audenshaw as Bob Hope, 3051 episodes since 2000
8. Elizabeth Estensen as Diane Sugden, 3025 episodes between 1999 and 2022
9. Steve Halliwell as Zak Dingle, 2930 episodes between 1994 and 2023
10. Nicola Wheeler as Nicola King, 2854 episodes since 2001
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EastEnders characters episode count
EastEnders has remarkably retained three original cast members – four, counting Tracey the barmaid – since its very first episode aired on February 19th, 1985.
Steve McFadden, who has been playing Phil Mitchell for over three decades since 1990, is only 11 episodes away from becoming the longest-running actor on the show, currently held by Adam Woodyatt as Ian Beale.
Several characters weren’t included in the ranking, such as Sonia Fowler (played by Natalie Cassidy), who appeared in almost as many episodes as Wendy Richard’s Pauline Fowler before her exit last year. Lacey Turner’s Stacey Slater also didn’t make the list, appearing in 20 fewer episodes than Sonia.
There have been 7,258 episodes to date.
1. Adam Woodyatt as Ian Beale, 3684 episodes since 1985
2. Steve McFadden as Phil Mitchell, 3673 episodes since 1990
3. Letitia Dean as Sharon Watts, 2720 episodes since 1985
4. Gillian Taylforth as Kathy Beale, 2283 episodes since 1985
5. June Brown as Dot Branning, 2278 episodes between 1985 and 2020
6. Perry Fenwick as Billy Mitchell, 2250 episodes since 1998
7. Pam St Clement as Pat Evans, 2189 episodes between 1986 and 2025
Between 1985 and 2025, three actors played the role of Martin Fowler: Jon Peyton-Price (308 episodes), James Alexandrou (755 episodes), and James Bye (1033 episodes), for a total of 2087 episodes.
9. Jessie Wallace as Kat Moon, 1998 episodes since 2000
10. Wendy Richard as Pauline Fowler, 1949 episodes between 1985 and 2007
Hollyoaks characters episode count
Hollyoaks first aired on October 23rd, 1995, and recently marked its 30th anniversary. Over the years, the show has expanded with various spin-offs. While the main series has aired 6,665 episodes, we’ve also counted characters’ appearances in these related shows when calculating their total time on screen.
Okay, so it’s totally expected that Tony Hutchinson is number one – he’s a legend! But I’m really curious to see how all the other characters from Chester stack up against him. I’m excited to find out who else makes the cut and how they compare!
1. Nick Pickard as Tony Hutchinson, 2601 appearances since 1995
Adam Booth and Ashley Taylor-Dawson have played the character Darren Osborne for a total of 2046 episodes since 1996. Adam Booth appeared in 14 episodes, while Ashley Taylor-Dawson portrayed the character for 2032 episodes.
3. Jennifer Metcalfe as Mercedes McQueen, 1768 episodes since 2006
4. Kieron Richardson as Ste Hay, 1710 episodes since 2006
5. Jessica Fox as Nancy Osborne, 1694 episodes since 2005
Cindy Cunningham was played by two actresses: Laura Crossley appeared in 17 episodes between 1995 and 2024, while Stephanie Waring played the role for 1505 episodes over the same period.
7. Jimmy McKenna as Jack Osborne, 1458 episodes since 1996
8. Sarah Jayne Dunn as Mandy Richardson, 1346 episodes between 1996 and 2021
9. Anna Passey as Sienna Blake, 1242 episodes since 2012
10. Jamie Lomas as Warren Fox, 1108 episodes since 2006
How does everyone compare?
After reviewing the ratings from all four popular British soap operas, it’s clear that none of the actors from Hollyoaks appear in the top ten most popular.
Marlon Dingle has appeared in almost as many episodes as Rita Tanner, being only about 30 episodes behind her. Sally Metcalfe is close behind Marlon, with 22 fewer episodes. And Kevin Webster isn’t far behind Phil Mitchell, appearing in just six fewer episodes.
Let the battle commence…
1. William Roache as Ken Barlow, 4924 episodes since 1960
2. Helen Worth as Gail Chadwick, 4606 episodes between 1974 and 2025
3. Barbara Knox as Rita Tanner, 3983 episodes since 1964
4. Mark Charnock as Marlon Dingle, 3956 episodes since 1996
5. Sally Dynevor as Sally Metcalfe, 3934 episodes since 1986
6. Simon Gregson as Steve McDonald, 3828 episodes since 1989
7. Adam Woodyatt as Ian Beale, 3684 episodes since 1985
8. Steve McFadden as Phil Mitchell, 3673 episodes since 1990
9. Michael Le Vell as Kevin Webster, 3867 episodes since 1983
10. Lucy Pargeter as Chas Dingle, 3521 episodes since 2002
Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at TopMob, providing the latest news and spoilers for popular British soap operas like Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks. Before joining TopMob, he worked as a Soaps Reporter at Metro for two years and even worked on the sets of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
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2026-01-09 10:50