Compact was a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling who later went on to devise Crossroads. The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national publicly funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... Peter Ling is a writer for television and a novelist. ... Stars from Crossroads Crossroads was a British television soap opera set in a motel near Birmingham. ...

In comparison to the "kitchen sink realism" of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly more middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. In fact, one could argue that given its workplace setting, Compact was the first "avarice" soap, taking the viewer into the business world, and aligning the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. Ronald Allen played Ian Harmon, the magazine editor, before going on to play David Hunter in Crossroads. The opening title of Coronation Street, since 2002. ... Ronald Allen Ronald Allen was an established British character actor born in 1930 who died June 18, 1991. ...