Soap opera began airing a recap sequence at the beginning of each episode. With the exception of "Hollyoaks", soap operas in the UK also lack incidental music, although "EastEnders" would sometimes feature music that plays over an ending scene if it was dramatic, with an alternative "EastEnders" theme known as "Julia's theme". Australia has had quite a number of well-known soap operas, some of which have gained cult followings in the UK, New Zealand and other countries. The majority of Australian television soap operas are produced for early evening or evening timeslots. They usually produce two or two-and-a-half hours of new material
Damon and Debbie storylines, executive producer Phil Redmond suggests, Damon's departure would have to be "something a bit special". The producers developed the idea of a 'soap bubble', a term which Redmond credits to Channel 4 executive David Rose, so that the multi-stranded narrative of "Brookside" would continue during the standard episodes, with two characters co-existing in a separate production. "Damon and Debbie" is generally recognised as the first instance of a UK soap opera expanding its narrative world in such a way. According to Annie Leask of "The Sunday Mirror", the spin-off was a result of the characters' popularity with the viewing