Editing Soap opera (section)

===2000s===
Since 2000, new soap operas have continued to be developed. Daytime serial ''[[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]]'' began in March 2000, preceding ''Neighbours'' on BBC One and had since become the BBC's flagship daytime series.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Honebeek |first1=Talya |title=Where is Doctors filmed? All the BBC soap's Birmingham filming locations |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/doctors-filmed-bbc-soaps-birmingham-22273025 |access-date=3 September 2022 |work=[[Birmingham Mail]] |publisher=([[Reach plc]]) |date=29 November 2021}}</ref> The series was cancelled in October 2023, with the final episode screened in November 2024.<ref name="Axe">{{cite news |last1=Warner |first1=Sam |title=Doctors axed by BBC after 23 years |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/doctors/a45570567/doctors-axed-bbc-23-years/ |access-date=18 October 2023 |work=[[Digital Spy]] |date=18 October 2023}}</ref> In 2002, as ratings for the Scottish serial ''High Road'' (formerly ''Take The High Road'') continued to decline, BBC Scotland launched ''[[River City]]'', which proved popular and effectively replaced ''High Road'' when it was cancelled in 2003. The long-running serial ''Brookside'' ended in November 2003 after 21 years on the air, leaving ''Hollyoaks'' as Channel 4's flagship serial. In 2023, it was announced that ''Hollyoaks'' had been removed from Channel 4's early evening schedule, but would remain on [[E4 (TV channel)|E4]] and Channel 4's on demand service and would upload episodes to YouTube.

A new version of ''Crossroads'' featuring a mostly new cast was produced by [[Carlton Television]] for ITV in 2001. It did not achieve high ratings and was cancelled in 2003. In 2001, ITV also launched a new early-evening serial entitled ''[[Night and Day (TV series)|Night and Day]]''. This program too attracted low viewership and, after being shifted to a late night time slot, was cancelled in 2003.

''Family Affairs'', which was broadcast opposite the racier ''Hollyoaks'', never achieved significantly high ratings leading to several dramatic casting revamps and marked changes in style and even location over its run. By 2004, ''Family Affairs'' had a larger fan base and won its first awards, but was cancelled in late 2005. In 2005, former ''Hollyoaks'' producer [[Sean O'Connor (producer)|Sean O'Connor]] moved to ''Family Affairs'', and planned a revamp including a new name and a younger, more glamorous cast, although these plans did not come to fruition due to the show's axing.

In 2008, ITV premiered ''[[The Royal Today]]'', a daily spin-off of popular 1960s-based drama ''[[The Royal]]'' (itself a spin-off of ''[[Heartbeat (British TV series)|Heartbeat]]''), which had been running in a primetime slot since 2003. Just days later, soap opera [[parody]] programme ''[[Echo Beach (soap)|Echo Beach]]'' premiered alongside its sister show, the comedy ''[[Moving Wallpaper]]''. Both ''Echo Beach'' and ''The Royal Today'' ended after just one series due to low ratings. Radio soap opera ''[[Silver Street]]'' debuted on the [[BBC Asian Network]] in 2004. Poor ratings and criticism of the programme led to its cancellation in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/11_november/16/asian.shtml|title=BBC Press Release|publisher=BBC|access-date=30 January 2010}}</ref>