TV SOAP Emmerdale may be losing out in the ratings war, but residents in the programme come top of the property ladder, according to the latest research.

A survey showing relative house prices on different UK soaps revealed property in the Yorkshire Dales, where the show is set, had rocketed in the past five years.

A typical stone cottage in the area is now worth about £240,000, a rise of more than 110 per cent since 1999.

EastEnders' character Pauline Fowler was calculated to have the most valuable soap house - her Victorian semi-detached home is now thought to be worth about £360,000.