James Cartwright, the actor who plays Dylan Wilson on Coronation Street, has issued a warning about the future of British soap operas, arguing that the genre must focus on stories that bring people together rather than drive them apart. In an exclusive interview, Cartwright said the shows that have endured for generations did so by speaking to a shared audience, and that this sense of common ground is now under pressure.
«We need things that join, not divide us,» Cartwright said, summing up what he sees as the central challenge facing soaps today. His comments come as Coronation Street and its rivals confront a rapidly changing television landscape, where streaming platforms, shorter attention spans and fragmented viewing habits have reshaped how audiences consume long-running drama.
Cartwright's character, Dylan Wilson, has been at the center of some of the show's more difficult storylines in recent years, including a knife crime plot that drew national attention. That experience appears to have shaped his view that soaps carry a responsibility beyond entertainment. For decades, Coronation Street has been a fixture of British living rooms, using its fictional Weatherfield setting to explore issues such as poverty, domestic abuse, mental health and grief while still offering warmth and humor.
The actor's warning reflects a broader anxiety within the industry. Soap operas were once guaranteed mass audiences, but ratings have declined across the board as viewers migrate to on-demand services. Producers have responded by accelerating plotlines, introducing more sensational twists and competing for social media attention. Critics argue this approach can alienate the loyal, older viewers who formed the genre's backbone, while younger audiences often discover soaps through clips rather than full episodes.
Cartwright's remarks suggest he believes the solution lies not in chasing trends but in reinforcing what made soaps distinctive in the first place: continuous, character-driven storytelling that reflects ordinary life. That model depends on viewers feeling a connection to a community, whether it is Coronation Street's cobbles or the streets of rival shows like EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.
The stakes are significant. Soaps remain a major source of employment for actors, writers and crew across the UK, and they serve as a training ground for talent in front of and behind the camera. They also function as a shared cultural reference point, capable of sparking national conversations about subjects that might otherwise go unexamined. If that shared audience continues to erode, the genre's influence — and its ability to tackle difficult issues — could shrink with it.
For now, Cartwright's message is a call for unity at a time when television, like much of public life, is increasingly segmented. Whether soaps can answer that call may determine whether they remain a cornerstone of popular culture or become a nostalgic relic of a less fragmented era.