![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/string-of-soaps-biggest-stars-face-the-axe-as-shows-slash-wage-bills/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/gareth-pierce-sally-carman-jude-839687382.jpg&description=Exclusive SOAP BLOODBATH SOME of Britain's favourite soap stars face the axe in a huge cost-cutting drive as audiences dwindle. Insiders said the £200,000-a-year-plus pay packets of leading performers on Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders meant they were all in the firing line. 5 Coronation Street's biggest stars face the axe as the ITV soap's audience dwindles Credit: PA 5 Emmerdale needs to cut wage bills by up to 25 per cent, an insider revealed Credit: Getty 5 EastEnders bosses were even considering a 'massacre' of their stars with an epic end-of-year finale Credit: PA One source told us how EastEnders bosses were even considering a 'massacre' of their stars with an epic end-of-year finale. The pressure to make cuts comes as ratings across the big three fall and wage bills spiral. An insider said: 'There is about to be a bloodbath across Corrie, Emmerdale and EastEnders — and it won't be pretty. "All the big three have all been told they need to cut their wage bills by up to 25 per cent. Now there is panic in the green rooms about who could be facing the chop. 'Some of the veterans are terrified they could be next — especially the older generation who are all earning well over £200,000. 'The corridors are full of fear. It could be anyone who gets a script that tells them their time is up. 'Working in soaps has never been more perilous than it is now.' ITV's Corrie has been broadcast for 63 years and Emmerdale for 51. BBC's EastEnders has been on air for 38 years. But a report from broadcasting regulator Ofcom this month revealed all three were experiencing record ratings lows. They were watched by tens of millions more than a decade ago, but now struggle to pull in more than three million per episode. The source explained: 'Fewer people watching the ITV soaps means less money from advertising. And for EastEnders, their dismal viewing figures make a mockery of their enormously expensive new set — paid for by the licence fee.' The BBC forked out £87mil){kind=link}
SOME of Britain’s favourite soap stars face the axe in a huge cost-cutting drive as audiences dwindle.
Insiders said the £200,000-a-year-plus pay packets of leading performers on Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders meant they were all in the firing line.
One source told us how EastEnders bosses were even considering a “massacre” of their stars with an epic end-of-year finale.
The pressure to make cuts comes as ratings across the big three fall and wage bills spiral.
An insider said: “There is about to be a bloodbath across Corrie, Emmerdale and EastEnders – and it won’t be pretty.