Family Pride [08/09/91]
The first British-Asian soap
Billed as Britain's first Asian soap, Family Pride was a continuing drama which ran for two series in the 1990s. It featured stories set among South Asian communities in Birmingham.
Initially revolving around the Bedhi Family and their import/export business, the series later developed to include the lives of employees and friends. This episode from 1991 features a disrupted sham marriage, revelations of medical negligence and the souring of industrial relations at BB Worldwide.
Initially produced by Central Independent Television, Family Pride was broadcast on ITV in the Midlands and shown nationally on Channel 4. It was created by actor and producer Zia Mohyeddin, who wanted the show to reflect the lives of British-Asian communities at the time. Much was made in the press at the time of the soap's focus on middle-class families. Producers of the programme insisted that this was a deliberate attempt to step away from racial and gender stereotypes associated with South Asian characters on television so far.
With its emphasis on affluent characters and shift away from typical issue-led soap storylines, Family Pride was unfavourably likened to American soap Dallas and received mixed reviews from the press and public. The programme ultimately failed to appeal to British-Asian or broader audiences. Attempts were made in the second series to introduce more realistic storylines and a more comprehensive range of characters, but it was cancelled in 1992.
Rizvi has stopped the marriage in the nick of time, but the atmosphere is now tense.
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TV Soap: Selection Box
Continuing drama on the small screen: explore how TV soap has changed over the decades.
The UK is a nation of soap addicts, with programmes commanding audiences of millions every week. Since they first appeared on British television in the 1950s, British soaps have given us hundreds of memorably distinctive characters in many different settings. But while they take many forms, there are some common characteristics.
Where in the US soaps tend to favour glamour and frothy fantasy, here they typically centre on relatable communities and families and reflect life in (usually) contemporary Britain, exploring sometimes thorny social issues and attitudes to class, race, gender, sexuality and more. While originally steeped in real-life domestic conflict, soap marched into the new millennium with hard-hitting storylines, sensationalist plots and issue-driven narratives highlighting pressing matters of the day.
This collection showcases a variety of soaps; rural or urban, north or south and everything in between. Some were shortlived and are much missed, while others are longstanding favourites embedded in our collective memory.
So settle in and prepare for drama!
24 videos in this collection
1
2
General Hospital [19/10/72]
3
Garnock Way [01/04/76]
4
Emmerdale Farm [05/04/76]
5
A Stitch in Time
6
Coronation Street [14/11/77]
7
Crossroads (Promotion)
8
Pat Phoenix &Tony Booth (Live from Two)
9
Mary Whitehouse Reacts to Brookside Scenes
10
Emmerdale Farm [14/05/85]
11
Coronation Street[01/11/1961]
12
Crossroads [23/05/85]
13
Albion Market
14
Coronation Street [13/08/86]
15
Yorkshire Television
16
Brookside [13/04/87]
17
Families [14/01/91]
18
Family Pride [08/09/91]
19
Emmerdale [10/10/91]
20
Coronation Street [06/07/92]
21
Sus
22
Machair
23
Sus
24