How are teenagers represented in British soap operas?

Accurately.

I'm going to be using Eastenders as my support for this answer, as its the only British soap opera I have access to here in the States.

Just last night, I mentioned how much Abi Branning is growing up. I've watched the same actress playing the part for years now, and it's insane how she grew up right before my eyes. Peter Beale resently hit a growth spurt as did Ben Mitchell. The kids are allowed to grow up in real time and do not fall victim to SORAS (Soap Opera Rapid Age Syndrome) like those children on American soaps. Those far, now of the actors or actresses playing children on Eastenders has been replaced by a "fresher" looking face.

The storylines given to children are usually fitting. Libby Fox and Darren Miller had been friends for a long time when Darren started falling for her. He, under an alias, got him to fall for her online. Libby was angry when she found out, but admited her feelings through a game of Scrabble. He took an extended break from Walford to visit his mother after telling his father off for being a deadbeat dad, and the relationship never recovered.

Peter Beale and Lauren Branning started dating rather awkwardly too as the French exchange student staying with the Beale family first noticed their attraction to each other. The exchange student was leaving to go home and send a letter to Lauren from a secret admirer and a letter to Peter from a secret admirer to meet in the same place. They felt stood up at first, but then realized that they could date each other and have had quite a few "cute" first love scenes like when he again rather awkwarded gave her a birthday card.

The kid characters are given fitting personalities. Ben is into Broadway and tap dancing which are two things his thug-of-a-father doesn't get. Abi loves animals is often scene worming another pet out of her parents or mourning one of their deaths.

Orphaned by his mother and grandmother Jay Brown found himself as a wanna-be-bad-boy living with his dolt of a grandfather. His father showed up and his grandfather left adding more dysfunction to his live. He got caught up with a wrong crowd and he often modeled a conflicting conscience as they tormented Dot Cotton. Eventually, Jay was stabbed by one of his friends when he wouldn't agree to one of their schemes and was then bullied by the boy's mother so he wouldn't testify against the boy. It was a little dramatic, but really made sense in the context of the show.

The most over-the-top child is Lucy Beale, but her storylines are so built into the history of the show that I, as a viewer, can fully believe everything that's happening to her. Lucy is Peter's twin and she started receiiving e-mails and messages from her dead mother. Ian, her father, tried his best to prove to her that it was some mean or bad person trying to scam her, but Lucy was not convinced. Peter was hurt that "the mother" was not trying to contact him. Lucy's mother was a needy prima donna that Ian always bailed out, but Lucy has turned her mother into a tragic idol and decided it was easier to made Ian the bad guy. The e-mailer turned out to be Steven, Lucy and Peter's half-brother. He was recently discarded by his father and quite-troubled himself. After a load of drama involving kidnapping (of Ian), and shooting (Steven shot Ian's wife Jane), Steven wormed himself into the Beale household and Lucy never did like the way Ian and Jane treated him. She loved her brother no matter what and was still quite angry with Ian. This would build up for months where we watched Lucy date bad boy Craig who turned her on to drinking and tried unsuccessfully to rape her and finally during an argument with Ian, Lucy slapped him and he slapped her back. Lucy ended up running away and had been missing for weeks. Peter is now only seen with wide eyes missing his sister.

They are neither rich nor spoiled. Darren has always had a job as long as I have been watching and to teach Lucy discipline, Ian had her working at the family's fish and chip shop. The kids on Eastenders are realistic. Dramatic sure, but there were times when I was quite dramatic in my youth. Heck, there are time when I'm quite dramtic as an adult.

some are portrayed accurately and some arent if theres a david platt out here in the uk he would have been in a young offenders unit for quite a while longer than he was locked up for . lucy beale is just being a replica of her mum cindy beale classic case like mother like daughter soap opera style

hollyoaks potrays chester kids as totally out of parental control only two good storylines came from the show jake being written out and the bulimia storyline .

even emmerdales kids or teenagers arent your typical everyday kids and teenagers try looking around englands roughest estates soaps in the uk are nothing like how real kids come across not enough respect is shown on tv or real life from kids but at same time respect has to be earned not given and its all about learning from us adults .

The three main Soaps in the U.K. are Coronation Street, which is set around Manchester with deep Northern accents; Eastenders, which is set around London with deep Southern accents & Emmerdale,which is set in rural Yorkshire with that local accent. Therefore people in England would probably advice you to watch the Soap that is closest to their own accent. Basically, I don't know where you are based but it would be strange to hear a group of foreign students learning English with a regional accent!!! What I would suggest is that you download Doctors, which is a daytime Soap where, by and large, the actors do not have strong regional accents.

Most teenagers in soaps have a fairly dramatic life (as you would expect) but are generally represented fairly. Most teenagers these days are trouble, although not all of them. But then again if the teenagers in soaps were "good" ones no one would be interested in watching.

"Maria" You're very anti-British, what's up? Did you try and immigrate but were knocked back 'cus of yir bad attitude?

I think that British soaps portray all teenagers as drunken druggies who all cause trouble, have sex under age and who's parents have no control over them.

However this is totally different australian soaps where all teenagers are perfect (except for the odd minority) and may stay out a few minutes past curfew but will certainly make it up to their parents, but thats about all the trouble they get in to. Its the adults that make all the mistakes, affairs, drugs etc.

probably spoiled and rich. I watched soap operas once for 9 yrs when I was going thru a spell in my life that was really dull (it MUST have been dull or I would not have been watching) and everyone on the soaps were rich so I imagine the teens are spoiled and rich even though I am talking about United States soap operas. sorry, not that keen to the BBC.Just watched a few shows on public broadcasting from there.

as they are in reality i suppose.....although not all teenagers are like that are they?