[originaltext]M: Could you tell us something about the program?W: Basically, (

M: Could you tell us something about the program?
W: Basically, (1)the soap opera is about life in the East End of London, that is, the Cockney way of life. But that isn’t what, you know, the most important thing about the program. That isn’t the reason for its success.
M: So, what do you think of it?
W: (2)The reason for its success is it deals with social problems that other soap operas have never dealt with before. We believe that we could do what other soap operas have only skimmed on: prison and breaking the law.
M: Very nice.
W: Prison, nervous break-downs—I mean, it’s not just all gloom and doom... There is a lot of humor. And there is a lot of love and warmth in the program as well. So, really, if anyone says, what is East Enders about? It’s not about Cockneys. I mean, because the situations that we deal with are characteristic of a lot of inner-city communities all over Britain, and I’m sure, in other cities in the world.
M: What part do you play?
W: I play a girl called Michelle Fowler... Well, no, Michelle Holloway to start with. She was in a family. She lived in the same house with her mother and father and her grandmother. The son ran away, and then the mother had another baby, and then she got pregnant by the local landlord. (4)This is Michelle got pregnant, not my mom, by the landlord of the local pub, which nobody knows about. No one knows who the father is. That was the big story line in the first year. And after she had the baby, she married a local lad who she’d known for a few years.
M: Is she all like you?
W: She speaks like me. That’s where it ends. No, she is not at all like me. I mean, my circumstances are... if I hadn’t gone into acting, there probably would have been more similarities. But because my life is changed, and my circumstances have changed so much over the past couple of years, the only similarity between me and Michelle is our accent.
M: Do you like her?
W: Yeah, I like her. (5)I think she’s very brave, very courageous to have the baby, and very strong to keep the consequences of everyone knowing who the father was, which would be just so catastrophic.
M: Catastrophic or something...
W: I’m such a good speaker. Yeah, catastrophic or something or other. (5)So she’s got the strength to keep such a big secret with her. And she believes that she’ll keep it with her for the rest of her life.
1. What type of program are they talking about?
2. What does the woman say about the reason for the success of the program?
3. Who is the woman being interviewed?
4. What was the big story line in the first year?
5. Why does the woman say Michelle is very brave?