The British Soap Awards (BSAs) were an annual awards ceremony which honoured the contributions made by the cast and crew of various British soap operas. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and were manufactured by British firm Creative Awards since their inception. The majority of the awards were voted for by a panel of industry professionals, while certain awards including Best British Soap and Best Leading Performer were voted for by the general public. The ceremony alternated between locations in London and Manchester and was televised on ITV1.
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 were then 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 soap operas that regularly received nominations for awards were Brookside, Coronation Street, Crossroads, Doctors, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Family Affairs, Hollyoaks and Night and Day.
In 2016, it was announced that the award for outstanding achievements made 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 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. The 2025 ceremony went ahead as planned, but a year later, it was confirmed that the 2026 ceremony had also been cancelled in what was described as a "rest" for the production. However, months later, it was announced that ITV had cancelled the British Soap Awards altogether as part of budget cuts for the network.
Categories
Best Actor Best Actress Best Bitch Best British Soap Best Comedy Performance Best Dramatic Performance Best Exit Best Family Best Female Dramatic Performance Best Foreign Soap Best Leading Performer Best Male Dramatic Performance Best Newcomer Best On-Screen Partnership Best Single Episode Best Storyline Best Young Performer Greatest Moment Hero of the Year Scene of the Year Sexiest Female Sexiest Male Villain of the Year Outstanding Achievement Award Tony Warren Award
Ceremonies Year Presenters Location 1999 Richard Madeley Judy Finnigan Television Centre, London 2000 2001 2002 Matthew Kelly 2003 Des O'Connor Melanie Sykes 2004 Paul O'Grady rowspan=2 2005 2006 Phillip Schofield Fern Britton 2007 2008 2009 rowspan="11" 2010 The London Studios, London 2011 Granada Studios, Manchester 2012 The London Studios, London 2013 dock10, Greater Manchester 2014 Hackney Empire, London 2015 Palace Theatre, Manchester 2016 Hackney Empire, London 2017 The Lowry, Salford 2018 Hackney Empire, London 2019 The Lowry, Salford 2020 Colspan=3 Rowspan=2 2021 2022 Phillip Schofield Rowspan=2 Hackney Empire, London 2023 Jane McDonald The Lowry, Salford 2024 colspan=3 2025 Jane McDonald Hackney Empire, London
Winners 1990s 1999 Award Winners Nominees "Best British Soap" Coronation Street BrooksideEastEndersEmmerdaleFamily AffairsHollyoaks "Best Actor" Ross Kemp (Grant Mitchell in EastEnders) Dean Sullivan (Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside)David Neilson (Roy Cropper in Coronation Street)Kelvin Fletcher (Andy Sugden in Emmerdale) "Best Actress" Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders) Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Patterson in Coronation Street)Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson in EastEnders)Lisa Riley (Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale) "Sexiest Male" Michael Greco (Beppe di Marco in EastEnders) Adam Rickitt (Nick Tilsley in Coronation Street)Ross Kemp (Grant Mitchell in EastEnders)Stuart Wade (Biff Fowler in Emmerdale) "Sexiest Female" Tamzin Outhwaite (Mel Healy in EastEnders) Tracy Shaw (Maxine Peacock in Coronation Street)Denise Welch (Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street)Claire King (Kim Tate in Emmerdale) "Best Exit" Claire King (Kim Tate in Emmerdale) Philip Middlemiss (Des Barnes in Coronation Street)Martine McCutcheon (Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders) "Best Comedy Performance" John Savident (Fred Elliott in Coronation Street) Gladys Ambrose (Julia Brogan in Brookside)David Neilson (Roy Cropper in Coronation Street)June Brown (Dot Cotton in EastEnders) "Best Dramatic Performance" Kelvin Fletcher (Andy Sugden in Emmerdale) Georgia Taylor (Toyah Battersby in Coronation Street)Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders)Kerrie Taylor (Lucy Benson in Hollyoaks) "Best On-Screen Partnership" David Neilson and Julie Hesmondhalgh (Roy Cropper and Hayley Patterson in Coronation Street) Dean Sullivan and Sue Jenkins (Jimmy and Jackie Corkhill in Brookside)Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn (Jack and Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street)Dominic Brunt and Lisa Riley (Paddy Kirk and Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale) "Villain of the Year" Stephen Billington (Greg Kelly in Coronation Street) Martin Kemp (Steve Owen in EastEnders)Ross Kemp (Grant Mitchell in EastEnders)Claire King (Kim Tate in Emmerdale) "Best Storyline" Tiffany discovering her mother Louise's affair with Grant (EastEnders) Sinbad and the gas explosion on the parade (Brookside)Roy and Hayley's courtship leading to their marriage (Coronation Street)Mandy's triumph over her sexually abusive father (Hollyoaks) "Best Foreign Soap" Home and Away The Bold and the Beautiful NeighboursSunset Beach "Special Achievement Award" William Roache (Ken Barlow in Coronation Street) N/A
2000s
2000 Award Winners "Best British Soap" EastEnders "Best Actor" Joe Absolom (Matthew Rose in EastEnders) "Best Actress" Patsy Palmer (Bianca Butcher in EastEnders) "Sexiest Male" Michael Greco (Beppe di Marco in EastEnders) "Sexiest Female" Tamzin Outhwaite (Mel Healy in EastEnders) "Best Newcomer" Gary Lucy (Luke Morgan in Hollyoaks) "Best Exit" Paul Loughran (Butch Dingle in Emmerdale) "Best Comedy Performance" Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street) "Best On-Screen Partnership" Dean Sullivan and Sue Jenkins (Jimmy and Jackie Corkhill in Brookside) "Best Dramatic Performance" Lindsey Coulson (Carol Jackson in EastEnders) "Villain of the Year" Martin Kemp (Steve Owen in EastEnders) "Best Storyline" The teenage pregnancy of Sarah-Louise Platt (Coronation Street) "Best Foreign Soap" Home and Away "Spectacular Scene of the Year" "Millennium Club Explosion" (Brookside) Special Achievement Award Tony Warren
2001 Award Winners "Best British Soap" EastEnders "Best Actor" Martin Kemp (Steve Owen in EastEnders) "Best Actress" Natalie Cassidy (Sonia Jackson in EastEnders) "Sexiest Male" Martin Kemp (Steve Owen in EastEnders) "Sexiest Female" Tamzin Outhwaite (Mel Healy in EastEnders) "Best Newcomer" Jessie Wallace (Kat Slater in EastEnders) "Best Exit" Naomi Radcliffe (Alison Webster in Coronation Street) "Best Comedy Performance" Sarah White (Bev McLoughlin in Brookside) "Best On-Screen Partnership" Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn (Jack and Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street) "Best Dramatic Performance" Georgia Taylor (Toyah Battersby in Coronation Street) "Hero of the Year" Clive Hornby (Jack Sugden in Emmerdale) "Villain of the Year" Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell in EastEnders) "Spectacular Scene of the Year" Andy burning the barn (Emmerdale) "Best Storyline" Mark, Linda and Mike love triangle (Coronation Street) "Best Single Episode" The Live Episode (8 December 2000, Coronation Street) "Special Achievement Award" Phil Redmond (Creator of Brookside and Hollyoaks)
2002 Award Winners "Best British Soap" EastEnders "Best Actor" Martin Kemp (Steve Owen in EastEnders) "Best Actress" Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo Morgan in EastEnders) "Sexiest Male" Martin Kemp (Steve Owen in EastEnders) "Sexiest Female" Jessie Wallace (Kat Slater in EastEnders) "Best Newcomer" Alex Ferns (Trevor Morgan in Eastenders) "Best Exit" Batley the dog (Emmerdale) "Best Comedy Performance" Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole in Coronation Street) "Best On-Screen Partnership" John Bardon and June Brown (Jim and Dot Branning in EastEnders) "Best Dramatic Performance" Raymond Quinn (Anthony Murray in Brookside) "Best Storyline" Bullying Plot (Brookside) "Hero of the Year" Stuart Manning (Sam Armstrong in Night and Day) "Villain of the Year" Alex Ferns (Trevor Morgan in EastEnders) "Spectacular Scene of the Year" Adam and Mandy's car crash (Hollyoaks) "Best Single Episode" Zoe discovers that Kat is her mother (EastEnders) "Special Achievement Award" Tony Holland (Co-creator of EastEnders)
2003 Award Winners "Best British Soap"presented by Paul O'Grady Coronation Street "Best Actor" Brian Capron (Richard Hillman in Coronation Street) "Best Actress" Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo Mitchell in EastEnders) "Sexiest Male" Shane Richie (Alfie Moon in EastEnders) "Sexiest Female" Jessie Wallace (Kat Moon in EastEnders) "Best Newcomer" Jack McMullen (Josh McLoughlin in Brookside) "Best Exit" Brian Capron (Richard Hillman in Coronation Street) "Best Comedy Performance" Andrew Whyment (Kirk Sutherland in Coronation Street) "Best On-Screen Partnership" Jack McMullen and Sarah White (Josh and Bev McLoughlin in Brookside) "Best Dramatic Performance" Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street) "Hero of the Year" Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street) "Villain of the Year" Brian Capron (Richard Hillman in Coronation Street) "Spectacular Scene of the Year" Richard Hillman's confessions of murder (Coronation Street) "Best Storyline" Richard Hillman's homicidal story arc (Coronation Street) "Best Single Episode" Marlon and Tricia's wedding plans (Emmerdale) "Lifetime Achievement Award"presented by Sue Johnston Dean Sullivan (Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside)
2004