<P> A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction presented in serial format on television, radio and in novels, featuring the lives of many characters and focusing on emotional relationships to the point of melodrama . The term soap opera originated from radio dramas being sponsored by soap manufacturers . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, BBC Radio started to broadcast The Archers in May 1950 . It continues today and is the world's longest - running radio soap opera . The world's longest - running television soap opera, first broadcast on ITV in the UK in December 1960, is Coronation Street . </P>

Where does the phrase soap opera come from