Showbiz: The British Soap Awards 2025

This week Penelope Teeth bites into the soap suds…

The British Soap Awards 2025 short list nominations were announced this week. Let’s take a look at the characters, actors and plots that are up for a gong…

After a hiatus the BSA are back on STV, ITV1, STV Player and ITVX this June. This year the awards will take place at the Hackney Empire in London and will once again be hosted by the incomparable Jane McDonald.

As always, the numerous accolades will be presented by an array of well-known faces from across the TV and showbiz world. Coronation Street, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale will be battling it out to win recognition for their work over the past year, I mean let’s face it, it’s what some of their plots are only created for – gong wins.

So, let us take a look at the nominations and then go forth and make a vote for the worthy ones you feel should take home a gong. After all, some of the plots and scripts in recent years have seen those soap actors really working for their money. For full details on categories go to www.britishsoapawards.tv

Viewer Voted Category: Best Soap

Did Gail leaving Coronation Street after 50 years see a tear run down your leg? Or maybe Hollyoaks jumping a year in its storylines really gave you a thrill, like trying to manoeuvre a supermarket trolley with a wonky wheel.

Or maybe the Emmerdale icy lake limo loss of life make you think it the best scene since Annie Sugden slipped on a cowpat? Possibly EastEnders’ 40th and the devastated exploded Queen Vic – complete with the return of Angie and demise of Martin – heated you up as much as Steve Owen.

There are obviously just four options for Best British Soap. Sadly, there isn’t a chance to vote for the worst, mores the pity.

Viewer Voted Category: Best Leading Performer

In Best Leading Performer it’s a battle between EastEnders and Emmerdale with two from each soap hoping to win the award.

First up, or should that be ‘aye-up’, is Eden Taylor-Draper for her role as Belle Dingle in Emmerdale who last year suffered terribly in a domestic abuse and cohesive control storyline, written by a fella who was up to similar apparently in real life.

The second up for a gong from the ITV Yorkshire based saga is Beth Cordingly who plays Ruby Fox-Miligan.

Down to BBC Elstree and first up for EastEnders is no surprise – Lacey Turner who plays Stacey Slater. Stacey is currently in mourning for the death of Martin Fowler who, in the wreckage of the Queen Vic – declared his lover for her.

And speaking of the Queen Vic, landlady, murderer and alcoholic Linda Carter has also had her fair share of tragedy this year, all brought to life by Kellie Bright.

I would like to say it is rather sad that the fabulous Balvinder Sopal hasn’t been nominated in this category, she’s been a powerhouse of performance this year as Suki Panesar. Do better next year BSA, really.

Viewer Voted Category: Villain of the Year

In the Villain of the Year nominations, we see Calum Lill up for his role of Joel Deering in Coronation Street. Joel was bad and is now dead. Which the same can be said of Nish Panesar in EastEnders. Played by Navin Chowdhry, Nish was bad on another level, not so much a villain as pure evil. Maybe he should have had his own section, just for evilness.

Someone who may be getting his comeuppance shortly is Joe Tate in Emmerdale. Played by Ned Porteous plots have seen Joe, now don’t laugh, ‘steal a kidney’. Yes, this is Emmerdale and not The Days of Our Lives. I’ll have whatever the writers were on at the time that plot was concocted.

Finally, although unlikely to win there is also a shout for Hollyoaks and Tyler Conti who plays Abe Fielding. Abe or Nish? I think we all know the answer to that.

Viewer Voted Category: Best Comedy Performance

Odd place for Jack P. Shepherd as David Platt to be put this year considering he’s had some pretty serious storylines, but maybe Coronation Street think his comedy is his strength. David has seen traumas this year from loan sharks, his house burning down, his ‘adopted son’ being banged up and mother Gail disappearing with the fella from Jazz Club. ‘Nice’.

For EastEnders it was another laugh-a-minute with Bianca Jackson played by Patsy Palmer who was kidnapped and locked in a storage unit for months, she then battered Reiss her hostage taker over the bonce, only for him to escape and crash his car into the Queen Vic resulting in the fire and death of Martin.

Nicola King played by Nicola Wheeler is the nomination for Emmerdale while Nicole Barber-Lane who portrays Myra McQueen is the comedy legend for Hollyoaks.

Panel Voted Categories: Best Family

Soaps are all about family, right back to the earliest days in UK serial with The Groves it has all been about relations, the love, the hate, the good times and the bad. The panel have the task this year of four families to consider which has been the ‘best’ in the four sagas.

For ITV Granada’s Coronation Street it is The Platts who have been put forward. This year the family said farewell to Gail after fifty years of the one-time Ms Potter living on – or near – the famous cobbled street.

Over in Walford the family that matters this year is The Slaters for EastEnders while over in the Yorkshire Dales it’s The Dingles of Emmerdale. For Hollyoaks The Osbornes are up for the prize.

Panel Voted Categories: Best Dramatic Performance

There’s been some right misery this past year, along with the social plots that have tugged at heart strings and dramatic storylines that have shocked, stunned and surprised. At the centre of some of these plots are performers who have proved to be powerhouse of drama.

In Coronation Street Peter Ash as Paul Foreman moved viewers with the Motor neurone disease storyline and his subsequent death. In EastEnders Steve McFadden as Phil Mitchell has been battling his demons, from drink to wanting to commit suicide and his recent spell in rehab to recovery.

For Emmerdale Eden Taylor-Draper as Belle Dingle has, as mentioned earlier, has suffered at the hands of her narcissist husband who abused and cohesive controlled her while for Hollyoaks it is Isabelle Smith as Frankie Osborne who is up for the gong. Frankie has suffered sibling sexual abuse last year and this year subjected to criminal and sexual exploitation.

Panel Voted Categories: Best Single Episode

There is a ‘scene of the year’ category all of its own, but here episodes that have within some ‘best scenes’ too. From these episode choices Mason’s death in Coronation Street up for the award along with Phil’s Psychosis: The Mitchells In 1985 for EastEnders.

In Emmerdale this was an episode, as April’s Life On The Streets, filled a half-hour special while for Hollyoaks it is their ‘Time Jump’ opener which saw the storylines fast-forward a year.

Panel Voted Categories: Best On-Screen Partnership

For Coronation Street, it is Alison King & Vicky Myers who play Carla Connor & Lisa Swain. After years of having more men than Elsie Tanner Carla decided she fancied a little from the otherside of the street. And why not, don’t answer that.

It was a reunion for Rudolph Walker & Angela Wynter in EastEnders as Patrick & Yolande Trueman got back together. Although she got molested by the local priest, which caused a bit of a fraction in the relationship for a while.

Emmerdale has William Ash & Beth Cordingly as Caleb Milligan & Ruby Fox-Miligan. Caleb is a kidney down after it was stolen in a private operation orchestrated by Joe Tate. Ruby has seen her pervert father return to the village only for him to meet a fate that was worse than having to do a storyline about your kidney being nicked.

Finally Hollyoaks and Nathaniel Dass & Oscar Curtis are nominated for their roles as Dillon Ray & Lucas Hay.

Panel Voted Categories: Best Newcomer

All the performers in the ‘newcomer’ category are, in my opinion, very good in their roles so this will be a hard one for the panel to judge I expect.

First up for Coronation Street it is Jacob Roberts as Kit Green. Laura Doddington as Nicola Mitchell is the nomination for EastEnders while Kammy Hadiq as Shebz Miah is Emmerdale’s rising star.

Over at Lime Pictures’ Hollyoaks is represented by Isabelle Smith as Frankie Osborne.

Panel Voted Categories: Best Storyline

So many plots in a year that could be worthy of a best storyline accolade but the four nominated are Paul’s Battle With MND for Coronation Street. Over at EastEnders it is  Phil Mitchell: Hypermasculinity In Crisis.

The best story from Emmerdale this past year is Belle & Tom – Domestic Abuse while Sibling Sexual Abuse is the offering from Hollyoaks.

Panel Voted Categories: Best Young Performer

The youngsters up for nomination are from ITV Granada’s Coronation Street Will Flanagan as Joseph Winter-Brown, BBC Elstree’s EastEnders Sonny Kendall as Tommy Moon, for ITV Yorkshire’s Emmerdale Amelia Flanagan as April Windsor and Lime Pictures’ Hollyoaks Noah Holdsworth as Oscar Osborne.

Panel Voted Categories: Scene of the Year

As noted earlier in the ‘Best Episode’ category, we have a little duplication going on here as it’s very rare an entire episode is ‘best’ there are scenes and this is the gong that reflects more accurately this.

For Coronation Street the scene, as nominated in episode, is Mason’s Death. For EastEnders it was the 2-minute shock return of Angie Watts as a vision in EastEnders’ 40th anniversary edition.

In Emmerdale the memorable scene of the year up for the gong is Amy’s deathly plunge that revealed Nate’s body was a sunk in the lake. And in Hollyoaks Mercedes confronted her mortality even though we know they’d never kill her off.

The Outstanding Achievement Award and The Tony Warren Award will be revealed on the night.

Showbiz Today is the views of Penelope Teeth and are not endorsed by ATV Today.