Soaps don't invest in relationships, says Sally Ann Matthews

Sally Ann Matthews believes soaps don't "invest" enough in on-screen relationships.

The 53-year-old actress - who plays Jenny Bradley in 'Coronation Street' - believes that TV audiences crave "entertainment, entertainment, entertainment all the time".

Asked why her on-screen character is so unlucky in love, Sally Ann replied: "Obviously it's a soap and you can't live happily ever after because there's no drama in that, but then there is a lot to be said for characters having long-term, established relationships.

"I think what happens in all soaps currently is that you get to see a little bit of them getting together, then you don't see any of the day-to-day relationship stuff and then you see when they split up!

"It's the same either whether it's a romantic relationship or any other kind of relationship. We seem to be in an age were, theoretically audiences demand entertainment, entertainment, entertainment all the time. Everybody's fighting for figures but don't invest in relationships."

Despite this, Sally Ann believes 'Coronation Street' has largely managed to buck the trend, because it's so well-established.

The actress explained: "The joy of 'Corrie' is that because of our history, you've got long term relationships - those scenes with the Platts this week are just joyous because you know the dynamic. You see Audrey telling Gail off, Gail telling someone else off, and so on, and we've seen that for so long.

"That's the joy of a show with such a long history like ours. The more we see that, the better, and I think the audience will get greater enjoyment from it. What I'd hate to see soaps fall into the trap of is just going from story point, to story point, to story point and not investing in the relationships."