Soap marriages present skewed view of wedlock

An unusual new report shows conclusively that real marriages are considerably more likely to go smoothly than nuptials portrayed in the leading soaps.

Protagonists in the nation's favourite television dramas have a one in five chance of being jilted at the altar or having their spouse die shortly before or after walking up the aisle.

The wedding insurer Ecclesiastical Insurance compiled the data by looking at the melodramatic matrimonies in Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale over the past five years.

Of the 48 weddings due to take place in this time, almost a quarter were called off before the big day and ten per cent were either annulled or found to be invalid.

The national rate of annulment is around 0.07 per cent.

Only 11 of the 36 successful unions are still in tact today, with 39 per cent ending in divorce and 22 per cent terminated by the death of the husband or wife.

Around one in seven of the wedding ceremonies depicted took place during the Christmas period.

"While we all accept and understand that the soaps have to accentuate events for dramatic purposes, we were interested to see just how much skewing was being done," said Chris Pitt of Ecclesiastical Insurance.

Though the volume of annulments and premature deaths was shown to be highly exaggerated, the ratio of civil ceremonies was found to be surprisingly accurate.

"The percentage of weddings in Coronation Street which are civil ceremonies is virtually the same as the national figure," observed the insurer's spokesperson.

The five most common claims on Ecclesiastical wedding insurance policies are damage to wedding dresses or jewellry, cancellations, venue complications, catering problems and loss or damage to the wedding photographs.ADNFCR-1121-ID-18542934-ADNFCR

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