Seven tips for preventing ‘Duff Duff’ moments in your home

With over 33.9 million viewers tuning in on a weekly basis, there’s no doubt that Brits are addicted to soap operas. And it seems that every week someone in soapland gets burgled, gets caught in an arson attack or something is set on fire. Soaps seem much riskier than real life, which could be why we’re obsessed with them.

But is this actually true? To find out which is the most dangerous soap once and for all, security expert ADT has teamed up with superfans of the top seven soaps to look at all the break-ins and fires at each over the past ten years, creating the ‘Soapland Security League’.

The research reveals that Albert Square is by far the most dangerous place to live or work, a whopping 10 times more dangerous than Ambridge.

• Research reveals EastEnders is the most dangerous soap to live in, with over 10 times as many break-ins and fires than the least dangerous, The Archers
• The damage caused by fires and break-ins comes to £128,000 for The Queen Vic alone
• Surprisingly not all soaps are as eventful as you might think, with Coronation Street, The Archers, Pobol y Cwm and River City all experiencing fewer incidents than their ‘real-life’ local areas – only in EastEnders and Hollyoaks are fires and break-ins more common
• Security expert ADT has worked with soap superfans to identify every break-in and fire in soaps as well as the biggest security risks in properties from Emmerdale to Ambridge

Seven tips for preventing ‘Duff Duff’ moments in your home

1. Think about who you give your keys to, and make a note of who’s got them. Make sure to only give your keys to trusted friends, family or neighbours – not every Dot, Nick and Charlie
2. Bought a new home? Or just want to make your existing one more secure? Invest in a new smart monitored alarm system to go with it. Just make sure your alarm of choice isn’t a peacock – it might work for The Bull pub in The Archers but historically Indian peafowl aren’t as reliable as an ADT bellbox
3. Test your smoke alarms weekly. Sounds like a lot, but it’s important to know they’re still up to task, and we bet Kerry wishes she had one that worked well after drunkenly setting fire to Dale View in 2013 before falling asleep…
4. Without wanting to teach Pauline Fowler how to suck eggs – do make sure you’ve locked all of your doors and windows. The Beale-cum-Fowler-cum-Beale residence is about as easy to get into as Pauline’s bad books, mostly because the back gate is unfailingly unlocked!
5. We reckon Pobol y Cwm’s Dai might have recovered his valuable brown envelope (containing £5,000) if he’d marked it with a security pen. Simple, and he’d have saved himself time and money in the long run.
6. Installing a flood detection system can help to minimise damage and impact of floods on your property. Bet poor Christine Barford wished she’d invested in the technology ahead of the flooding in The Archers in 2015.
7. Check out your local crime figures with ADT’s Crime In My Area online tool. You can find out just how at risk you are from burglaries and break-ins – although we’re not sure anyone would want to move to Hollyoaks after using it!

Collaborative Article