BRITAIN’S soaps are in the grip of a cash crisis – and there’s one woman who knows this better than anyone.

Actress Debbie Arnold has appeared in every UK soap opera, and with her help we’ve taken a dive into what the actors are really taking home – including the show that pays less than the living wage.

Debbie, 70, played two different characters on Coronation Street – Sylvie Hicks in 1981 and Carole Evans in 2012.

She was also April Branning in EastEnders in 1995, and over on Emmerdale she played Debbie Wilson in April-May 1990. On Hollyoaks, she played Janice Bolton from 1995-1997.

And while she’s no longer on the soaps, she still mingles in acting circles, does panto and appears in the media – all of which means she’s very well placed to lift the lid on the sorry state of soaps’ pay.

Debbie said: “The soaps don’t pay any more.

“When I was on Coronation Street in the early 80s, I was earning more money than when I went back in 2012 as somebody else.

“I was the first person to do every single soap. I’ve done Coronation Street. EastEnders. Coronation Street again. Emmerdale. Hollyoaks.

“I’ve done them all as a regular character.

“Coronation Street was my favourite – but they don’t pay any money anymore.”

Much has been made of the cost crisis on ITV’s soaps, with Corrie axing characters to save money.

Other big names including Sue Cleever (Eileen Grimshaw) and Shelley King (Yasmeen Nazir) have left amid the ongoing budget cuts.

They relied on a pay-per-episode deal, which would have seen them paid even if they appeared in the background in the Rovers Return, which has now been scrapped.

It’s tough on the Street

​Corrie reportedly pays £400 to £2,000 per episode to each actor. Lead actors have annual contracts with higher bills, including William Roache (Ken Barlow) and Jack P Shepherd (David Platt) among the highest earners on around £250,000 a year.

Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster) and Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) are closer to £150,000.

But smaller roles are closer to the £400 per episode mark.

The Dales dilema

It’s a similar situation on Emmerdale, where their big hitters are Claire King (Kim Tate) on an estimated £230,000, then Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard), Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle), and Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle) in the £200,000 annual salary range.

When it comes to extras on the northern soaps, however, they can expect as little as £200.

Other whistleblowers tell us that you get a little more if you speak a line, employ a special skill such as driving a truck on screen or dancing or work overtime.

Courtney Cash is one soap extra who has spilled the beans after appearing on Hollyoaks this summer.

She made a TikTok about her experience playing a paramedic who attended Clare Devine’s flat to check over Grace Black, which netted her £350.

In the dramatic few moments, Cash’s unnamed paramedic said to Grace: “Can you hear me, Grace? Grace?” Later, she added: “She’s alive. She needs hospital now.”

She revealed in her video:  “So basically, it all depends on how many words you say in a soap – I think the maximum for Hollyoaks is 13 words before you become cast, and if you become cast, you get paid a lot more.

“They wanted to avoid that, so I was capped at 13 words.

“I would have got paid more if I just had that one extra word.”