The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which honours the best moments in British

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 ...

s. 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 The British Soap Award for Best Leading Performer is an award presented annually by The British Soap Awards. The award was introduced to the ceremony in 2022, succeeding the categories for British Soap Award for Best Actress, Best Actress and B ...

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 Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and television presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television sitcom actor, game-show panellist and television prese ...

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 ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is ba ...

production, the events were held at the

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC), formerly known as BBC Television Centre, is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, which was the headquarters of BBC Television from 1960 to 2013, when BBC Television moved to Broadcasting H ...

in London until 2009. The ceremonies have since been held at various locations in London and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, including the

Granada Studios Granada Studios was a television studio complex and events venue on Quay Street in Manchester, England, with the facility to broadcast live and recorded television programmes. The studios were the headquarters of Granada Television from 1956 to ...

the London Studios The London Studios (also known as The South Bank Studios, The London Television Centre, ITV Tower, Kent House and LWT Tower) in Lambeth, Central London was a television studio complex owned by ITV plc and originally built for London Weekend Te ...

, dock10, the Hackney Empire, the Palace Theatre and

the Lowry Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex opened ...

. The four soap operas currently nominated for awards are ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' and ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

''. Now-defunct soaps that were formerly nominated for awards were '' Brookside'', '' Crossroads'', ''

Family Affairs ''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per w ...

,'' '' Night and Day'' and ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

.'' 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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

. 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.

Ceremonies

Winners

1990s

1999

2000s

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Stan Richards, who played Seth Armstrong in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in February 2005.

2006

2007

2008

Mike Reid, who played

Frank Butcher Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Mike Reid (actor), Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception, he is reintr ...

in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in July 2007.

2009

Clive Hornby, who played Jack Sugden in ''Emmerdale'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in July 2008.

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, best known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the ...

, who played Pauline Fowler in ''EastEnders'', was also remembered during the ceremony, having died in February 2009.

2010s

2010

Maggie Jones, who played Blanche Hunt in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in December 2009.

2011

2012

Betty Driver, who played Betty Williams in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in October 2011.

2013

Bill Tarmey, who played Jack Duckworth in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in November 2012.

2014

Richard Thorp, who played Alan Turner in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in May 2013. This was also the final ceremony where "Sexiest Male" and "Sexiest Female" were awarded; Michelle Keegan, who plays Tina McIntyre in ''

'', won "Sexiest Female" for the sixth time in a row.

2015

Anne Kirkbride Anne Kirkbride (21 June 1954 – 19 January 2015) was an English actress, best known for her long-running role as Deirdre Barlow in the ITV soap ''Coronation Street'', which she played for 42 years from 1972 to 2014. For this role, she posthu ...

, who played

Deirdre Barlow Deirdre Barlow (also Hunt, Langton and Rachid) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Anne Kirkbride. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 November 1972. Her ...

in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in January 2015. John Bardon, who played Jim Branning in ''

'', was also remembered during the ceremony, having died in September 2014. This year's ceremony incorporated a "Social Issue Storyline" mention, which is where all of the soap operas' most controversial stories were specially mentioned. These include: *

Steve Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation) ...

's depression (''Coronation Street'') * John Paul's rape (''Hollyoaks'') * Zara's breast-feeding campaign (''Doctors'') * Val's HIV diagnosis (''Emmerdale'') * Linda's rape (''EastEnders'')

2016

Peter Baldwin ( Derek Wilton in ''

''), Stephen Hancock ( Ernest Bishop in ''Coronation Street''), Shirley Stelfox (

Edna Birch Edna Birch is a fictional character from the British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Shirley Stelfox. She made her first appearance during the episode first broadcast on 25 May 2000. Edna is characterised as a proud an ...

in ''

''), Kitty McGeever ( Lizzie Lakely in ''Emmerdale''), Kristian Ealey (Matt Musgrove in '' Brookside'' and ''

'') and Morag Siller ( Marilyn Dingle in ''

'') were remembered during the ceremony which was held on 29 May.

2017

The 2017 awards took place on 3 June 2017 at

The Lowry Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex opened ...

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

. It was originally planned for the event to be broadcast live for the first time but due to ITV moving the live grand final of '' Britain's Got Talent'' into its scheduled timeslot, the awards were instead pre-recorded as before and broadcast on ITV on 6 June 2017. After the end credits in the broadcast version, dedications appeared to Jean Alexander (

Hilda Ogden Hilda Ogden (also Crabtree) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the serial, whose name became ...

in ''

''), who died in October 2016, and Roy Barraclough ( Alec Gilroy in ''Coronation Street''), who died in June 2017.

2018

The 2018 awards were broadcast live for the first time on 2 June 2018. Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth in ''

'', was remembered during the ceremony, having died in September 2017.

2019

The 2019 awards were broadcast live on 1 June 2019.

2020s

2022

The 2022 awards were broadcast live on 11 June 2022. This was Schofield's last as host. A tribute was paid to Australian soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'', after filming ended the day before the ceremony, with video messages from

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

( Harold Bishop) and Jackie Woodburne ( Susan Kennedy). The In memoriam segment paid tribute to Paula Tilbrook ( Betty Eagleton in ''Emmerdale''), Lynda Baron ( Linda Clarke in ''EastEnders'' and Ag Penrose in ''Doctors''), Mark Eden ( Alan Bradley in ''Coronation Street''), Anna Karen ( Aunt Sal in ''EastEnders''), Neville Buswell ( Ray Langton in ''Coronation Street''),

Patricia Brake Patricia Ann Kennedy (25 June 1942 – 28 May 2022), better known by her stage name Patricia Brake, was an English actress. She was best known for her role as Ingrid Fletcher, eldest daughter of Norman Stanley Fletcher, in the BBC sitcom ''P ...

( Deirdre Foster in ''EastEnders'' and Viv Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''),

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.

( Peggy Mitchell in ''EastEnders''),

Leah Bracknell Alison Rosalind Bracknell (12 July 1964 – 15 September 2019), known professionally as Leah Bracknell, was an English actress who played the role of Zoe Tate in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (1989–2005), for which she was nominated for th ...

( Zoe Tate in ''Emmerdale''),

Leonard Fenton Leonard Fenton (; 29 April 1926 – 29 January 2022) was an English actor, director and painter, best known for his role as Harold Legg in ''EastEnders''. Early life Fenton was born Leonard FinesteinDr. Harold Legg in ''EastEnders''), Kay Mellor (''Coronation Street'' and ''Brookside'' writer), Sheila Mercier ( Annie Sugden in ''Emmerdale''), Frank Mills (

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is an American former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National L ...

in ''Coronation Street''), Johnny Briggs ( Mike Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''), Roy Hudd ( Archie Shuttleworth in ''Coronation Street''), Stephen Churchett ( Marcus Christie in ''EastEnders''),

Freddie Jones Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for ...

(

Sandy Thomas Sandy Thomas is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Freddie Jones. Sandy was introduced as the father of Ashley Thomas ( John Middleton). He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 6 No ...

in ''Emmerdale''), Melanie Clark Pullen ( Mary Flaherty in ''EastEnders''),

Johnny Leeze John Harold Glen (31 December 1941 – 25 October 2020), known professionally as Johnny Leeze, was a British actor of television and film. He was perhaps best known for playing Harry Clayton in the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'' for ...

( Harry Clayton in ''Coronation Street'' and Ned Glover in ''Emmerdale''), and

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the Inside ...

( Dot Cotton in ''EastEnders''), who all died between the 2019 and 2022 ceremonies.

2023

The 2023 ceremony took place on 3 June 2023 and aired on ITV on 6 June 2023 at 8pm. It was the first to be hosted by Jane McDonald. The In memoriam segment paid tribute to Bill Treacher ( Arthur Fowler in ''EastEnders''),

Dale Meeks Dale Meeks (6 May 1975 – 22 April 2023) was an English television and theatre actor. Acting career Meeks was best known for his role as Simon Meredith in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' and as the winner of ITV's '' Celebrity Stars in The ...

( Simon Meredith in ''Emmerdale''), Barbara Young ( Barbara Platt and Doreen Fenwick in ''Coronation Street''),

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in American frontier, Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers ...

( Shadrach Dingle in ''Emmerdale''), Ernst Walder ( Ivan Cheveski in ''Coronation Street''), Peter Martin ( Len Reynolds in ''Emmerdale''), Mona Hammond ( Blossom Jackson in ''EastEnders''), Maria Charles ( Lena Thistlewood in ''Coronation Street''), Harry Landis ( Felix Kawalski in ''EastEnders''), and Paul O'Grady who hosted The British Soap Awards from 2004 to 2005. This marked the last regular appearance of ''Doctors'' prior to the cancellation announcement by the BBC on 18 October of that year and ''Doctors'' will end production on 14 November 2024 after 24 years on air.

2025

The 2025 ceremony took place on 31 May 2025 and will air on ITV on 5 June 2025 at 8pm. It was hosted by Jane McDonald.

Awards statistics

Note: '' Crossroads'' was nominated from 2001 to 2003, but did not receive any awards. The "Best Foreign Soap" category also featured ''

'', '' Sunset Beach'' and ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

'' in 1999.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:British Soap Awards 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom Annual events in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1999 * ITV soap operas Soap opera awards Television series by ITV Studios

History

Categories

Ceremonies

Winners

1990s

1999

2000s

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010s

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020s

2022

2023

2025

Awards statistics

Footnotes

References

External links