By James V. Ruocco
The British Soap Awards.
It's the biggest night of the year.
And it's back - LIVE on ITV this June 11th - after being off the air for two years due to the COVID 19-related pandemic.
Hosted by Philip Schofield of ITV 's "This Morning," the event will take place in London at The Hackney Empire Theatre, an iconic venue, which officially opened its doors on Mare Street back in 1901 as a musical hall, later expanding its entertainment calendar to include comedy acts, touring shows, opera, concerts, theatre and performing arts programmes for young people.
The awards ceremony will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. and run approximately two hours with no interval.
Tickets are £39.50-£19.50 (plus £1.15 per ticket online, £1.35 per ticket over the phone).
As predicted, "EastEnders" and "Emmerdale" have received the most nominations - 13 each - including two nominations apiece for Best Leading Performer. "Coronation Street," in turn, follows with 12 nominations while "Hollyoaks" received 11 and "Doctors" clocks in with 9.
A total of 14 awards are up for grabs including Best British Soap, Best Newcomer, Best Storyline and Scene of the Year.
Who will win?
Who will lose?
Who's the best?
Who will go home empty-handed?
Will "EastEnders" win the award for Best British Soap?
Or will "Emmerdale" take home the coveted prize?
Is "Hollyoaks" the dark horse?
Or will the award go to "Coronation Street?"
Or "Doctors?"
"The British Soap Awards are the highlight of the year for everyone in the soaps," says a spokesperson for the ITV telecast. "It's a chance for everyone involved to celebrate and recall the hard work they've put in throughout the year."
So who knows?
Anything can happen - and will happen - at The British Soap Awards.
Villain of the Year nominees Toby-Alexander Smith (ex-Gray Atkins on "EastEnders") and Paige Sandhu (ex-Meena Jutla on "Emmerdale") will be among those attending the event alongside cast members from all five primetime UK soaps including fellow nominees Gillian Wright, Linda Henry, Mark Charnock, Paddy Bever, Sarah Moyle, Jayden Fox and Matthew James-Bailey.
My choices (in some cases, there are more than one) for each category are in bold.
The Nominations:
BEST BRITISH SOAP
Coronation Street
Doctors
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Hollyoaks
BEST LEADING PERFORMER
Sally Carman (Abi Webster) – Coronation Street
Gillian Wright (Jean Slater) – EastEnders
Linda Henry (Shirley Carter) – EastEnders
Paige Sandhu (Meena Jutla) – Emmerdale
Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) - Emmerdale
BEST FAMILY
The Alahans – Coronation Street
The Carters – EastEnders
The Dingles – Emmerdale
The McQueens - Hollyoaks
VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
Maximus Evans (Corey Brent) – Coronation Street
Laura White (Dr Princess Buchanan) – Doctors
Toby-Alexander Smith (Gray Atkins) – EastEnders
Paige Sandhu (Meena Jutla) – Emmerdale
Rhiannon Clements (Summer Ranger) - Hollyoaks
BEST COMEDY PERFORMER
Jane Hazelgrove (Bernie Winter) – Coronation Street
Sarah Moyle (Valerie Pitman) – Doctors
Tameka Empson (Kim Fox) – EastEnders
Lisa Riley (Mandy Dingle) – Emmerdale
Chelsee Healey (Goldie McQueen) - Hollyoaks
BEST NEWCOMER
Paddy Bever (Max Turner) – Coronation Street
Ross McLaren (Luca McIntyre) – Doctors
Ross Boatman (Harvey Monroe) – EastEnders
Darcy Grey (Marcus Dean) – Emmerdale
Matthew James-Bailey (Ethan Williams) - Hollyoaks
BEST STORYLINE
Coronation Street - Hate Crime
Harry Visioni (Seb Franklin) Mollie Gallagher (Nina Lucas) Sally Carman (Abi Webster) David Neilson (Roy Cropper) Millie Gibson (Kelly Neelan) Maximus Evans (Corey Brent).
Doctors - Bear and his mother encounter racism at St Phil’s Hospital
Dex Lee (Bear Sylvester) Angela Wynter (Makeda Sylvester) Laura Bayston (Nurse Cathy Jenkins)
EastEnders - Jean’s Bipolar
Gillian Wright (Jean Slater) Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater) Ross Boatman (Harvey Monroe) Jessie Wallace (Kat Slate) James Bye (Martin Fowler)
Emmerdale - Meena Serial Killer
Paige Sandhu (Meena Jutla)
Hollyoaks - Misbah’s Historic Rape
Harvey Virdi (Misbah Maalik)
BEST SINGLE EPISODE
Coronation Street – Flashback
Doctors – Three Consultations and a Funeral
EastEnders – Jean in Southend
Emmerdale – Marlon’s stroke
Hollyoaks – Out of Time
BEST DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE
Sally Carman (Abi Webster) – Coronation Street
Dex Lee (Bear Sylvester) – Doctors
Gillian Wright (Jean Slater) – EastEnders
Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) – Emmerdale
Harvey Virdi (Misbah Maalik) - Hollyoaks
BEST ON-SCREEN PARTNERSHIP
David Neilson & Mollie Gallagher (Roy Cropper & Nina Lucas) – Coronation Street
Chris Walker & Jan Pearson (Rob Hollins & Karen Hollins) – Doctors
Lacey Turner & Gillian Wright (Stacey Slater and Jean Slater) – EastEnders
Isobel Steele & Bradley Johnson (Liv Flaherty & Vinny Dingle) – Emmerdale
Anna Passey & Kieron Richardson (Sienna Blake & Ste Hay) - Hollyoaks
BEST YOUNG PERFORMER
Millie Gibson (Kelly Neelan) – Coronation Street
Sonny Kendall (Tommy Moon) – EastEnders
Amelia Flanagan (April Windsor) – Emmerdale
Jayden Fox (Bobby Costello) - Hollyoaks
SCENE OF THE YEAR
Coronation Street – Johnny’s Death
Sally Ann Matthews (Jenny Connor) Richard Hawley (Johnny Connor) Julia Goulding (Shona Platt)
Doctors – Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
Adrian Lewis Morgan (Jimmi Clay) Ashley Rice(Sid Vere) Jane Pearson(Karen Hollins) Sarah Moyle (Valerie Pitman) Ben Moor (Paul Brooks) Harriet Thorpe (Hattie Brooks) Helen Lederer (Maisie Oliver)
EastEnders – Hall of Mirrors
Gillian Wright (Jean Slater) Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater)
Emmerdale – Bridge Collapse
Paige Sandhu (Meena Jutla) Matthew Wolfenden (David Metcalfe ) Isabel Hodgins (Victoria Sugden) Rebecca Sarker (Manpreet Sharma) Kevin Mathurin (Charles Anderson) Anna Nightingale (Andrea Tate)
Hollyoaks – Misbah Didn’t Consent
Haiesha Mistry (Yasmine Maalik) Harvey Virdi (Misbah Maalik )
For tickets or more information, call 44 20 8985 2424.
The Hackney Empire Theatre is located at 291 Mare Street, London, United Kingdom, E8 1EJ.
Seating is currently available in the Dress Circle, the Upper Circle and the Gallery (unreserved only). The Stalls (lower level) are completely sold out.
On June 11th, the British Soap Awards will be recorded LIVE for future broadcast on ITV. By purchasing a ticket and attending the performance, you consent to your image being used all during the telecast.
As stated earlier, the ceremony will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m.
Per management of the Hackney Empire Theatre, there will be strictly no latecomers or re-admittance to the event.