The Face Not The Image: TV Soap Stars Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. He was eldest son of one of the richest and most powerful oil families in Texas and not afraid to cut a corner or two. Who played J.R. Ewing, a man who did not even let a would-be assassin's bullet stop him?

Answer: Larry Hagman

"Dallas" ran from 1978 to 1991 and was a massive ratings hit in both the USA and the UK. J.R. Ewing was the son largely in charge of the business his father, Jock, had created. A tough businessman, J.R. also cheated regularly on his wife. A plot in which he was shot and badly wounded was one of the most massive storylines in soap history. The mystery of "who shot J.R.?" gripped all of the nations that viewed the show.
The one question that was never answered during the show's run was that if the Ewings were so rich, how come they all lived in just one house?

2. She was the conscience of The Street [capital letters required]. A strict churchgoer whose husband was shot dead in a robbery, she had a lot to put up with in a cantankerous lodger. Which actress played the almost saintly Emily Bishop in 'Coronation Street'?

Answer: Eileen Derbyshire

Eileen Derbyshire joined the cast of the world's-longest running TV soap (at the time this quiz was written) in 1961. Her character had been played by an extra when the show premiered the previous year. Emily was always the reasoned voice of the fictional 'Coronation Street', which was in the equally fictional Weatherfield, a supposed neighbourhood of the very real Manchester.

The show was inevitably called either "Corrie" or 'The Street'. For many years the widowed Mrs Bishop was landlady to the interfering busybody Norris Cole. And, no, there was never any suggestion of anything suggestible between them, thank you very much.

3. She was as greedy as she was beautiful, and made eyes at her uncle-in-law's son. Who played the wayward and wanton Sammy Jo Carrington in 'Dynasty'?

Answer: Heather Locklear

The part was written for Heather Locklear and she first appeared in 1981 during the second season, It was not until the fifth season that she became a permanent member of the cast. Sammy Jo was the niece of Krystle, wife of the head of the dynasty, Blake Carrington. She had an affair with Blake's son, Steven, and a son allegedly by him, but would not marry him. Eventually she married another man, but it was short lived, and she got back together with Steven.
The show was broadcast in the USA from January 1981 to May 1989 and was picked up in a number of other countries.

4. Strewth and stone the flamin' crows, there's no Aussie stereotype more familiar than that of the hard-drinking, hard-swearing cobber. He was thrown out of his father's business as a young lad and had to work to prove himself, eventually setting up a rival company. Who played Alf Stewart in 'Home And Away'?

Answer: Ray Meagher

Alf Stewart was one of the original characters in the pilot show in 1988 and was noted for his colourful language, examples in the question. 'Home And Away' was designed as a rival to the other great Australian soap, 'Neighbours' and eventually became more popular - especially after it, too, transferred to UK screens.

The character lost the wife he loved early in the show's run, but found a new love and started a new family. An illegitimate daughter also appeared from the past, but his life seemed to settle down before what had been diagnosed as Alzheimer's Disease turned out to be a brain tumour and he went through a near-death experience on the operating theatre.

5. He was a hapless vet who could never seem to keep hold of his women. Who played the part of Paddy Kirk in the soap 'Emmerdale'?

Answer: Dominic Brunt

Dominic Brunt joined the cast of 'Emmerdale' in 1997. His character arrived as a locum vet, but soon found a place in the Yorkshire village. Over the next decade or so, he went through two marriages and an affair with the village post mistress, before linking up with the village's sexy ex-stripper and her near-delinquent son.

6. Some called it "Dallas by the ocean" and "Knots Landing" shared some characters and links to the Texas-based show. Which actress played a trouble making character with the glorified name of Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner, who destroyed one marriage and then married herself for political reasons?

Answer: Donna Mills

"Knots Landing" was developed into a spin-off from "Dallas" and was aired from December 27th 1979 to May 13th, 1993 and was set in a fictional ocean side suburb of Los Angeles. The main link with Dallas was the character Gary Ewing, the third son of Jock (and brother of J.R. and Bobby), Donna Mills starred in the soap from 1980 to 1989 and returned in 1993.

7. He had a varied working career that included bouncer, petty criminal, drug dealer and schoolteacher. Which actor turned the bit-part that was Jimmy Corkhill into one of the mainstays of the British soap 'Brookside'?

Answer: Dean Sullivan

Set in Liverpool and first aired in 1982, 'Brookside' shook up the cozy world of British TV soaps. There was little cozy about life on the fictional Brookside Close. The storylines included murder, rape, incest, homosexuality, patricide, child abuse and drug dealing.

The character of Jimmy Corkhill joined the cast in 1986 as a bit-part to an established lead and was still there when Channel-4 pulled the plug on the show in 2003 citing falling ratings. Corkhill was a complex character, but his many storylines provided a powerful impression.

His was the character who cheated his way into a teaching job - he did not have any qualifications, but he was good at it; raged at the death of his son through drugs; then became a user and dealer himself; as well as suffering a mental breakdown.

8. She was sexy, spiteful and malicious and wasn't afraid to sleep in beds where she should really not have slept. Which actress played Louise (Kennedy) Summers, a character nicknamed 'The Ice Queen' in 'Hollyoaks'?

Answer: Roxanne McKee

"Hollyoaks' was another gem from the creative mind of Phil Redmond, the man behind 'Brookside' and 'Grange Hill' on British TV. Set among the staff and students of a Chester high school, it gained a reputation for the grittiness, and often brutality, of its storylines.
Louise Summers went through a wide range of experiences in her spell on the show from 2005 to 2008. They included a false accusation of murder, drug abuse, domestic violence, infidelity and blackmail.

9. She was something of a tomboy and became pregnant at the age of fifteen. Her eventual romance and marriage to another character was one of the most talked about in soapland. Would you consider yourself lucky, lucky, lucky, to get this question right? Who played Charlene (Mitchell) Robinson in 'Neighbours'?

Answer: Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue was in the Aussie soap for just two years (April 1986 to July 1988) and it was the stepping stone for her pop career.
'Neighbours' was set in the fictional Ramsey Street in the equally fictional Erinsborough. It first aired in March 1985 and became a massive hit in the UK when it was subsequently picked up by the BBC.
The love life of Charlene and Scott Robinson (played by Jason Donovan) gripped the viewers' emotions.

10. He arrived in London's most famous fictional square as a teenager, and although his father thought him a bit of a softy, he soon began to make his way in the catering industry. In more than 2,000 episodes, he ran the full range of emotions, but always seemed to lose out in the romance stakes. Which actor played Ian Beale in the BBC1 soap 'EastEnders'?

Answer: Adam Woodyatt

Adam Woodyatt was just 16 but played a 14-year old when he joined the original cast of 'EastEnders' in 1985. The Beale family, and the related Fowlers, were the kingpins of the fictional Albert Square in East London. The character had a varied time (don't all soap characters?) that included betrayal by his girlfriend (she had a baby by another man); a suicide bid; being dumped by his new bride on the eve of the Millennium; and being shot by a hitman.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Gamemaster1967 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Pity the poor soap stars: They appear on our screens sometimes daily and we get involved in their screen lives. But if you met one on the street, would you know the actor's name, or just the character's? See how many you do know.

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