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ITV have issued a huge blow to Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders and Hollyoaks fans by once again cancelling the British Soap Awards.
The annual event is a hotly anticipated opportunity to celebrate the best of British soaps – from the outstanding contributions of actors to brilliantly written storylines.
A spokesperson told the Radio Times: ‘The British Soap Awards is taking a break and won’t be on air in 2026.’
‘The show was fantastically received in 2023, achieving consolidated figures of 2.9million and doubling its audience year on year, so we look forward to the show’s return.’
The programme was last on air in 2025 after previously taking a break in 2024.
The British Soap Award’s absence may be disappointing news for soap fans amid a bumper year for British telly.
This notably included the first-ever Emmerdale and Coronation Street crossover, Corriedale, which pulled in a staggering 5.9million viewers when it aired in January.
It also comes after ITV announced its most successful streaming month to date with an unbelievable 383million streams in January.
This was partially due to the popularity of British soaps, in particular, which many fans stream at a time that suits them on ITVX.
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, told the Metro: ‘The combination of a brilliant drama offering, two of our biggest brands – Coronation Street and Emmerdale, alongside our most popular show for 16-34s, have come together to deliver its biggest ever month.
‘2026 is packed full of exciting new content and it’s fantastic to kick start the year with this milestone.’
The British Soap Awards have been hosted by Scottish presenter Jane McDonald, 62, since 2023.
She took over the role after Phillip Schofield was forced to give up the role when his affair with a younger, male colleague was revealed in May of that year.
Jane said: ‘You all know I love my soaps, so to be in a room giving recognition to all these wonderful actors and their fantastic hard work is simply joyous. I can’t wait to get my glittery frock on and celebrate with everyone.’
Last year’s awards were a good night for the residents of Walford as EastEnders emerged as the victor of the British Soap Awards with eight gongs.
The BBC soap cleaned up on the night with eight awards while Hollyoaks received three, Emmerdale two and Coronation Street only one.
They kicked off their wins with Best Episode which went to Phil’s Psychosis: The Mitchells In 1985.
EastEnders also won Scene of the Year for Angie Watts’s Shock Return while Navin Chowdhry won Best Villain for his role of Nish Panesar.
Emmerdale’s Amelia Flanagan won Best Young Performer for playing April Windsor while camera operator Mike Plant took home the Tony Warren Award which is given to employees working behind the scenes.
Coronation Street’s sole gong of the night was the Outstanding Achievement Award which went to David Neilson who has played Roy Cropper for 30 years.
