The British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and have been manufactured by British firm Creative Awards since their inception. The majority of the awards are voted for by a panel of industry professionals, while certain awards including Best British Soap and Best Leading Performer are voted for by the general public.
History
The first British Soap Awards took place in 1999 and was presented by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, who presented the awards until 2001. Matthew Kelly presented the 2002 awards, before being replaced by Des O'Connor and Melanie Sykes in 2003. Paul O'Grady presented the awards between 2004 and 2005. Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton took over as presenters in 2006. Britton left in 2008, however Schofield continued to present the awards as a solo presenter until the 2022, as in May 2023, after presenting the ceremonies for 16 years, Schofield announced that he had quit. On 1 June 2023, it was announced that Jane McDonald would take over from Schofield as the new host of the awards.Although it is an ITV Studios production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre in London until 2009. The ceremonies have since been held at various locations in London and Manchester, including the Granada Studios, the London Studios, dock10, the Hackney Empire, the Palace Theatre and the Lowry. The four soap operas currently nominated for awards are Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks. Now-defunct soaps that were formerly nominated for awards are Brookside, Crossroads, Family Affairs, ''Night and Day and Doctors.
In 2016, it was announced that the award for outstanding achievement off-screen would be known as the Tony Warren Award following the death of Tony Warren, the creator of Coronation Street. On 1 May 2018, ITV announced that for the 20th anniversary of the show, it would be broadcast live for the first time on 2 June 2018. In March 2020, it was announced that the 2020 ceremony had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ITV instead aired a 60-minute special in its place titled The British Soap Awards Celebrates 21 Years'', narrated by presenter Phillip Schofield. In April 2021, it was announced that the 2021 ceremony had also been cancelled once again due to the pandemic.
In April 2022, it was confirmed that the British Soap Awards would be held in June 2022. They also announced the introduction of two new viewer-voted categories, Best Family and Best Leading Performer. With the introduction of the gender-neutral Best Leading Performer category, it was confirmed that the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor had been axed. Then in 2023, they reintroduced Villain of the Year as a viewer-voted category, as well as making the Best Young Performer award viewer-voted for the first time.
On 1 November 2023, the 2024 British Soap Awards were cancelled for an undisclosed reason by ITV. However, it was confirmed that they would return in 2025.
Categories
Current- Best British Soap
- Best Comedy Performance
- Best Dramatic Performance
- Best Family
- Best Leading Performer
- Best Newcomer
- Best On-Screen Partnership
- Best Single Episode
- Best Storyline
- Best Young Performer
- Scene of the Year
- Villain of the Year
- Outstanding Achievement Award
- Tony Warren Award
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Bitch
- Best Exit
- Best Foreign Soap
- Best Female Dramatic Performance
- Best Male Dramatic Performance
- Greatest Moment
- Hero of the Year
- Sexiest Male
- Sexiest Female
- Special Achievement
Ceremonies
Winners
1990s
1999
2000s
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
, who played Seth Armstrong in Emmerdale, was remembered during the ceremony, having died in February 2005.| Award | Winners | Nominees |
| "Best British Soap" | Coronation Street | Doctors EastEnders Emmerdale Family Affairs Hollyoaks |
| "Best Actor" | Shane Richie | Antony Cotton Simon Gregson Nigel Harman |
| "Best Actress" | Suranne Jones | Kacey Ainsworth Emma Atkins Jessie Wallace |
| "Sexiest Male" | Nigel Harman | |
| "Sexiest Female" | Jodi Albert | |
| "Best Newcomer" | Andrea Green | Antony Cotton Charlie Hardwick Tracy-Ann Oberman |
| "Best Exit" | Charlie Brooks | Emma Atkins Sam Barriscale Sasha Behar |
| "Best Comedy Performance" | Maggie Jones | Deena Payne Carley Stenson Ebony Thomas |
| "Best On-Screen Partnership" | John Bardon and June Brown | Sam Aston and Schmeichel Elizabeth Estensen and Charlie Hardwick Alex Carter and Lee Otway |
| "Best Dramatic Performance" | Kazia Pelka | Gary Beadle David Neilson Lee Otway |
| "Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress" | Sam Aston | Chris Fountain Lacey Turner Charley Webb |
| "Best Bitch" | Kate Ford | Gabrielle Glaister Patsy Kensit Lacey Turner |
| "Villain of the Year" Presented by Alice Cooper | Sasha Behar | Lorraine Chase Tracy-Ann Oberman Bill Ward |
| "Spectacular Scene of the Year" | Maya takes Dev and Sunita hostage and blows up the shop | Les and Cilla's whirlpool disaster Tom's firework party The Open-Top Bus |
| "Best Storyline" | Gary and Chrissy learn friend Bradley has been abusing their daughter Chloe | Maya's revenge on Dev and Sunita Diane's struggle with cancer Bombhead's grief over his mother |
| "Best Single Episode" | Charity and Tom's wedding | Maya blows up Dev's shops Past Imperfect Christmas Day |
| "Special Achievement Award" | John Stevenson | N/A |
| "Lifetime Achievement Award" Presented by Barbara Windsor | June Brown | N/A |
2006
2007
2008
, who played Frank Butcher in EastEnders, was remembered during the ceremony, having died in July 2007.| Award | Winners | Nominees |
| "Best British Soap" | EastEnders | Coronation Street Doctors Emmerdale Hollyoaks |
| "Best Actor" | Chris Fountain | Charlie Clements James Sutton |
| "Best Actress" | Emma Rigby | Jo Joyner Lacey Turner Charlotte Bellamy |
| "Sexiest Male" | Rob James-Collier | Ricky Whittle Robert Kazinsky Scott Maslen |
| "Sexiest Female" | Roxanne McKee | Jennifer Metcalfe Samantha Janus |
| "Best Newcomer" | Michelle Keegan | Stephen Lord Rita Simons Nico Mirallegro |
| "Best Exit" | Gemma Bissix | Sophie Thompson Peter Martin Guy Burnet |
| "Best Comedy Performance" | Maggie Jones | Katherine Kelly Cheryl Fergison Charlie Hardwick |
| "Best On-Screen Partnership" | Matt Littler and Darren Jeffries | David Neilson and Katherine Kelly Cheryl Fergison and Linda Henry Samantha Janus and Rita Simons |
| "Best Dramatic Performance" | Jo Joyner | Jack P. Shepherd Charlotte Bellamy Emma Rigby |
| "Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress" | Jamie Borthwick | Brooke Vincent Eden Taylor-Draper Ellis Hollins |
| "Villain of the Year" | Jack P. Shepherd | Jake Wood Barry Sloane Sophie Thompson |
| "Spectacular Scene of the Year" | Clare and Katy drive off a cliff | George and Nick's car crash The Land Rover rolls into the lake Justin Burton is run over |
| "Best Storyline" | The aftermath of Max and Stacey's affair | John Paul and Craig's affair Hannah's anorexia Nick in a wheelchair and George's guilt |
| "Best Single Episode" | Heartbreak – Daniel's death | "Tread Softly/Up Close and Personal" Christmas Day 2007 "The Revelation" |
| "Special Achievement Award" | Tim Fee | N/A |
| "Lifetime Achievement Award" Presented by Kevin Kennedy | Liz Dawn | N/A |
2009
, who played Jack Sugden in Emmerdale, was remembered during the ceremony, having died in July 2008. Wendy Richard, who played Pauline Fowler in EastEnders, was also remembered during the ceremony, having died in February 2009.| Award | Winners | Nominees |
| "Best British Soap" | EastEnders | Coronation Street Crossroads Doctors Emmerdale Hollyoaks |
| "Best Actor" | Robert Kazinsky | Simon Gregson Gray O'Brien Jamie Lomas |
| "Best Actress" | Katherine Kelly | Samantha Janus Jo Joyner Carley Stenson |
| "Sexiest Male" | Scott Maslen | Robert Kazinsky Chris Fountain Ricky Whittle |
| "Sexiest Female" | Michelle Keegan | Kara Tointon Lacey Turner Emma Rigby |
| "Best Newcomer" | Craig Gazey | Selina Chilton Shona McGarty Jorgie Porter |
| "Best Exit" | Rob James-Collier | Michael McKell Matt Healy Matt Littler |
| "Best Comedy Performance" | Nina Wadia | Simon Gregson Dominic Brunt Hollie-Jay Bowes |
| "Best On-Screen Partnership" Presented by Katie Price and Peter Andre | Nitin Ganatra and Nina Wadia | Simon Gregson and Katherine Kelly Mark Charnock and Dominic Brunt Nico Mirallegro and Marc Silcock |
| "Best Dramatic Performance" | Anita Carey | Patsy Palmer Jenna-Louise Coleman Carley Stenson |
| "Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress" | Maisie Smith | Alex Bain Isabel Hodgins Ellis Hollins |
| "Villain of the Year" | Gray O'Brien | Chris Coghill Larry Lamb Barry Sloane |
| "Spectacular Scene of the Year" | Victoria falls through the ice | The Homecoming The Millers' explosion Church explosion |
| "Best Storyline" | Vivien's Rape | Tony's revenge Bianca discovers Tony's a paedophile Niall's revenge |
| "Best Single Episode" | "A Kind of Hush" | Steve and Becky's failed wedding Bianca discovers the truth about Tony Max and Steph's wedding |
| "Special Achievement Award" | Peter Whalley | N/A |
| "Lifetime Achievement Award" Presented by Ross Kemp and Steve McFadden | Barbara Windsor | N/A |