Britain's most romantic soaps
Whether it’s the thrill of the chase, heated moments of passion, or a foolhardy attempt at winning someone’s affection; nothing grabs us quite like a romantic storyline in our favourite TV soap.
We love our drama here in the UK, but how do Britain’s most popular soap characters compare in the romance stakes?
To find out, we analysed over 3,400 years of collective character data. From Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders and Hollyoaks, we’ll reveal the romantic history of our most loved (and hated) characters.
Least faithful soaps 
According to our research, the residents of Weatherfield have fared worst when it comes to finding love, with a record 34 affairs and 31 instances of infidelity taking place on Coronation Street.
Despite being the most committed, Emmerdale ranked second for the least faithful soap, with 31 affairs and 17 instances of characters being cheated on.
You’re least likely to have your heart broken in Albert Square, with only 22 affairs and 11 instances of infidelity recorded.
Ian Beale (EastEnders) and Ken Barlow (Coronation Street) have been the characters unluckiest in love, with both longstanding characters being cheated on four times each.
But don’t feel too sorry for them, as they’ve also done their fair share of cheating, having had two affairs each.
Cheating behaviour must be a family trait in the Barlow house, as Ken’s son Peter is the joint-biggest cheater, having racked up four affairs in his life.
EastEnders hardmen Phil Mitchell and Max Branning, as well as Emmerdale’s Kim Tate are the other characters to stay away from if you want to avoid a broken heart, with 12 affairs between them (4 affairs each).
No. of affairs had
No. of times cheated on
The Hopeless Romantics 
Love really is in the air for the residents of Emmerdale, with an impressive 85 couples tying the knot over the show’s history (more than any other soap).
At the other end of the scale, those living in the Hollyoaks village are the least romantically inclined, with just 33 marriages to date.
While weddings are a time-honoured way to celebrate one's love, there are plenty of unmarried couples who are just as committed to each other. With that being said, EastEnders takes the cake for highest number of unmarried relationships, with 118 to date.
Steve McDonald (Coronation Street) and Bob Hope (Emmerdale) are the most prolific grooms, having both walked down the aisle seven times, with five different women. Gail Platt (Coronation Street), with five husbands to date, is the most wedded female soap character.
No. of marriages
No. of relationships (unmarried)
Most murderous marriages 
As any soap opera fan can tell you, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. And this applies to on-screen relationships, too.
It’s more bad news for Albert Square, as EastEnders comes out on top for murderous marriages. Throughout the history of the show, 14 characters have entered into relationships with killers – a figure which is nearly three times as many as Emmerdale, which had just five.
It’s the ladies of soap land who are most likely to fall victim to the ultimate bad boy, with Mercedes McQueen (Hollyoaks), Mandy Richardson (Hollyoaks), Melanie Kelly (EastEnders) and Stacey Fowler (EastEnders) all having had two relationships each with murderers.
No. of relationships with killers
Biggest baby count 
In terms of on-screen babies, EastEnders comes up trumps with 104 babies calling Albert Square their new home. Emmerdale comes in a close second, with 81 births on the show to date.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, thanks in part to a younger cast, Hollyoaks has seen the least number of babies, with just 43 recorded births.
No. of children
