Emergency – Ward 10 Emergency – Ward 10 Emergency – Ward 10 is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like "The Grove Family", a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, "Emergency – Ward 10" is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas. The series was made by the ITV contractor ATV and set in a fictional hospital called Oxbridge General. Growing out of what was originally intended to be no more than a six-week serial (entitled "Calling Nurse Roberts"), the series became ITV's first twice-weekly evening soap opera. "Emergency –
Soap opera The first major soap opera hit in Australia was the sex-melodrama "Number 96", a nighttime series produced by Cash Harmon Television for Network Ten, which debuted March 1972. The program dealt with such topics as homosexuality, adultery, drug use, rape-within-marriage and racism, which had rarely been explored on Australian television programs before. The series became famous for its sex scenes and nudity and for its comedic characters, many of whom became cult heroes in Australia. By 1973, "Number 96" had become Australia's highest-rated show. In 1974, the sexed-up antics of "Number 96" prompted the creation of "The Box", which rivaled