ITV has confirmed the British Soap Awards will not be returning for 2026.
The ceremony, which celebrates the wonderful world of soapland, has been hosted by Jane McDonald ever since Phillip Schofield left the broadcasting channel.
In 2024, the British Soap Awards didn’t air, but it was confirmed at the time that the show would return in 2025.
‘The show was fantastically received in 2023, achieving consolidated figures of 2.9 million and doubling its audience year on year, so we look forward to the show’s return’, a statement read.
Unfortunately, it’s bad news for fans of Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and EastEnders, as a spokesperson for ITV has confirmed to Metro that the awards do is taking a break for another year.
‘The British Soap Awards is taking a break and won’t be on air in 2026’, they said.
Last year, EastEnders was crowned Best Soap, following months of drama that saw them celebrate their 40th anniversary, multiple returns, and plenty of plot twists.
The start of 2026 has been huge for soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, as residents from both neighbourhoods were involved in a crossover episode called Corriedale.
Last week, ITV shared some pretty incredible statistics following what’s been the broadcasting channel’s ‘biggest ever month for streaming’.
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, has confirmed that Corrie and Emmerdale were pivotal in creating this milestone.
He said: ‘The combination of a brilliant drama offering, two of our biggest brands – Coronation Street and Emmerdale, alongside our most popular show for 16-34s, Love Island, have come together to deliver ITVX its biggest ever month. 2026 is packed full of exciting new content and it’s fantastic to kick start the year with this milestone.’
Both Coronation Street and Emmerdale saw significant uplifts in their streaming viewership, with streams up 48% year on year.
Don't miss a Soaps scoop! Add us as a Preferred Source
As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soaps news, spoilers, videos, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.
Click here and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
They also achieved their highest monthly streaming figures on record following the Corriedale crossover.
Plus, January saw the start of the soap power hour on ITV, with the shows now airing 30 minute episodes throughout the week in the evening, and on ITVX at 7am.
Corriedale was ITV’s biggest programme to air in January, with a total audience of 5.9 million across TV and streaming.