''Front Line Family'' was a British radio

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

initially

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's North American shortwave service. It ran from April 1941 until 1948, when it was replaced by '' Mrs Dale's Diary''. The show's storylines depicted the trials and tribulations of a British family, the Robinsons, living through the war. This featured plots about rationing, family members missing in action and the Blitz. The BBC had resisted soaps as antithetical to its quality image, but began ''Front Line Family'' to encourage American intervention on Britain's behalf in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The network instructed the show's writer that " is material must appeal to an audience of relatively limited mentality, an audience who believes in thrilleresque, is not squeamish, and is almost completely credulous". ''Front Line Family'' became popular, and soon independent radio stations purchased it for rebroadcasting within the United States. After the war the show was moved to the Light Programme in 1946 and continued to run until 1948.

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