Sally Wainwright, the creator of Happy Valley, has stated that TV soap storylines have become more “crazy and unbelievable” because there are so many episodes to fill and a “obsession with youth.”

In the 1990s, Wainwright got her start writing for Coronation Street.

With critically praised dramas such as Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack, she has established herself as one of the UK’s leading screenwriters.

She stated that she became tired with soap operas when “the stories became a bit samey and a bit similar, all about romance.”

“That certainly happened in Coronation Street.” Or [they were] simply more focused with attracting younger viewers, so they made stories about younger people while neglecting the fact that the core audience was older.”

Corrie was “proper kitchen sink drama” and “such a classy show” in its prime in the 1980s and early 1990s, she claimed. “It was about the real things that happened to real people.”

There were two programs per week when she started in 1994. It was set to be out four times a week when she left five years later, and there are now six episodes.

“I think the problem with that is that you just have so much turnover of plot that it inevitably becomes melodramatic,” she explained.

“With the ravages of story, it just becomes more and more heightened, crazy, and unbelievable when it goes out at that volume [of episodes].”

“I’m not sure if that’s a problem that has become less grounded.”

She wasn’t sure if she stopped watching soaps because they had changed or because her tastes had changed.

Wainwright was speaking at the Edinburgh Television Festival, where Happy Valley won best drama.

At the ceremony, her future concert was also announced. Hot Flush will follow a group of menopausal women from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, as they establish a punk band in order to compete in a talent show.