Move over EastEnders, Emmerdale and The Archers - a new kind of soap has emerged.

The e-soap is making its debut on the Internet - and newsroom staff at York have created their own, the impressive Yorkgate!

Hosted by the York Evening Press website This is York, the new soap is based around a fictional street in the ancient city of York.

It is updated twice a week and if you're going to read it start now - as the characters are gradually being introduced to the plot. But there’s also a helpful list of who's who in case you miss out.

Meet Martha Martino of the Coffee Spoon Cafe, private eye Derek Rain and Yvonne Wass, barmaid at the Bottle and Basket.

The idea is the brainchild of features writer Julian Cole, who has turned his hand from facts to fiction for the project, which was launched yesterday (Tuesday).

He said: "We get a lot of people visiting the This is York website and we thought we'd offer them something a little lighter.

We were looking for something new to do and this was it. There are several e-soaps around but this is the first we know of on a newspaper site."

He said he was currently writing the storyline but other writers around the York Evening Press office could soon be involved...

"We're also looking from ideas from the readers," he said.

"The story and characters are fictitious but they are clearly set in York and we'd like to weave some ideas from the public into our plot."

The first episode is on-line now and will be updated every Tuesday and Saturday.

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