The Street's Hayley is now much cherished - how would audiences two decades ago have reacted to a transsexual character?
Where were you when Mandy and Beth Jordache lifted the patio behind their Brookside Close home to conceal the body of abusive husband and father Trevor? Or when Coronation Street's Hayley revealed her big secret?
For millions of us, including academic Lesley Henderson, the answer is in front of the TV.
Henderson has dedicated hundreds of hours watching the box and her new book looks at the relationship between soaps and social issues.
How accurately does TV portray issues such as mental health, sexual identity and abuse? And can they actually shape and progress public views?
Of course, the series' writers all pride themselves on producing watercooler TV moments - but critics would say that in the never-ending ratings chase, this can push plots over into sensationalism.
Henderson cites Brookside's Jordache storyline as an example of a positive, albeit flawed, way of generating public debate on a sensitive subject.
At the other end of the spectrum, says Henderson, is the Coronation Street plotline involving nanny Carmel's obsession with Martin Platt (of all people).
So, where have the soaps got it right? And where do you think they've gone very, very wrong?
