Former Emmerdale star John Middleton has warned the ITV soap risks being axed - as it aims for a "young fickle audience".
John - who played Ashley Thomas in the ITV soap until 2017 when he exited in a devastating dementia storyline - has opened up about his thoughts about the soap as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
He warned that bosses would have to be "very careful" if they were going to focus on more stunts like Brookside did before its demise in the early 2000s.
Current Emmerdale actor Chris Chittel also said it was a "shame" the soap had been becoming more "sensationalist" now.
Speaking in the new series of Soap From The Box, John said: "You have to be very careful, and I think it's the big mistake that Brookside went down, they went for stunt after stunt after stunt.
"Eventually, your audience is tuning in to watch a stunt, and then that's it, then they go away.
"You're aiming for a young, but very fickle audience, you've done your stunt and then they go off and what something else. What you need is a loyalty to the characters because that's what brings you in and actually develops your understanding of drama and what it's about."
Chris Chittel - who plays Eric Pollard in the ITV soap - opened up about the change in storylines, admitting he felt they were all "sensationalist" now. He described the change as as a "shame".
"The biggest change is the topic of storylines, they're all sensationalist, which is a shame. We have to look at life and be able to reflect it to do our jobs. And life as we see it now, hells bells, you daren't cough, walk in the street because there's a death," he explained.
"But life is not like that. I saw a wonderful episode of Coronation Street with Sarah Lancashire and Julie Goodyear in the pub. They'd closed up for the night and it was just magical. It was perfect. That's what's missing."
Emmerdale is celebrating its 50th birthday this month with some huge storylines, including the return of three big characters - Aaron Dingle, Diane Sugden and Tracy Metcalfe - and the tragic death of Faith Dingle.
Elsewhere, the soap will air a huge storm stunt in the coming week which will see many lives on the line as the bad weather wreaks havoc on the village.
