History of the National Health Service Emergency Ward 10 was first broadcast in 1957 on ITV and ran until 1967 and followed the life and loves of the staff and patients of the fictionalised Oxbridge General. ITV later followed this up with General Hospital which borrowed much from Emergency Ward 10 in terms of its themes and focus. The idea of a medical hospital as a suitable and popular setting for a soap opera continued to take root in the 1980s. Casualty, set in an A&E department, was first broadcast in 1986 and has since become the longest running medical drama in the world. At a
Soap opera was cancelled after a steady decline in ratings following the departures of many of its original characters. The most successful soap opera in Italy is the evening series "Un posto al sole" ("A Place Under the Sun"), which had aired on Rai 3 since 1996 (whose format is based on the Australian soap opera "Neighbours"). Several other Italian soaps have been produced such as "Ricominciare" ("Starting Over"), "Cuori rubati" ("Stolen Hearts"), "Vivere" ("Living"), "Sottocasa" ("Downstairs"), "Agrodolce" ("Bittersweet") and "Centovetrine" ("Hundred Shop Windows"). The most popular Italian prime-time drama series, "Incantesimo" ("Enchantment"), which ran from 1998 to 2008, became a daytime