Starting out as radio shows almost a century ago, soap operas have lived many lives and garnered millions of viewers and super fans.

But with viewership in decline, particularly in younger cohorts, is the genre still relevant?

Actor Claudia Carroll, who played Nicola on Fair City, joined Lunchtime Live to talk about the impact soap operas can still have today.

"I think story has a place in all our lives."

"That's what good soap opera is - it's storytelling", she said.

"Soap has been through so much change, particularly since the advent of streaming services."

"You've got a lot of audience shifting to streaming because it makes all our lives so easy."

Modernisation

Ms Carroll added: "There is an argument to say that viewers now have gotten used to a very polished expensive-looking drama that we see o our streaming services."

She said that soap operas used to be targeted at female homemakers, but now it seems the modern 18 to 30 year old age group has been lost.

Ms Carroll pines for the days of highly-anticipated episodes with "huge iconic moments", such as the Eastenders Christmas special each year.

Hollyoaks writer Alan Flanagan naturally hopes the genre still has a place in modern society.

Hollyoaks, he says, is now available to watch on Channel 4's streaming service as well as on TV.

"The way that we're promoting the show, presenting the show, is moving with the streamers as well."

Community

"Something that I so rarely see on television is communities and families and social issues tackled in a way that soaps do", Mr Flanagan said.

"I think it's so rare to click on a show and see a real diverse group of people of different ages, of different backgrounds, living in a community."

"It's really interesting that, as society becomes more fragmented, it's harder to find these shows where you can watch people actually getting along, or knocking off against each other."

"In a community, in a village, everything happens."

Listen back to the full conversation here.

Main image shows a remote for a smart TV. Picture by: Allard Schager/Alamy