Excellent Enders Storm The Soap Awards

      

On Wednesday night, ITV screened the annual 12^th British Soap Awards bash, held at BBC Television Centre on May 7^th.  The night was dominated by the stars of BBC’s EastEnders, which scooped a staggering ten awards, the highest for any soap in any given year.

EastEnders, celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year was a class above the rest from the competitors this year, Coronation Street, Doctors, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.  It scooped all of the key awards, including Best British Soap for a third consecutive year.  Its spectacular live episode, as part of the anniversary celebration in February, which featured Stacey Slater being revealed as Archie Mitchell’s killer was the clear winner of Best Single Episode.  Lacey Turner, who is leaving the show later in the year, scooped the double for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance.  Also collected a duo of awards was Scott Maslen.  The former star of The Bill, who plays the dynamic Jack Branning won the Best Actor category and was voted Sexiest Male for the second consecutive year.  Charlie Clements, whose character Bradley Branning, fell to his shocking death in the live episode won Best Exit, holding off stiff competition from Jamie Lomas demise in Hollyoaks.  Finally, the evil Archie Mitchell, played by the distinguished Larry Lamb won Best Villain.

With EastEnders storming away with all the key awards, it left the rest fighting over the minor crumbs and comforts.  Like Hollyoaks last year, Emmerdale was nominated in every single category, yet failed to pick up an award.  That was apart from established writer Bill Lyons, who won the Special Achievement Award.  Lyons has been part of the writing team since 1984, and was behind the brains of the dramatic Emmerdale Plane Crash storyline in December 1993, which turned the show’s fortunes around.  For the second consecutive year, Hollyoaks had a tough time of things, as their domination of the 2008 ceremony seems a distant memory.  However, they did win the Most Spectacular Scene award, for the parachute skydiving stunt during its Hollyoaks Later show last October and saw Sarah Barnes (Loui Batley) plunge to her death. 

BBC daytime show Doctors did well again, collecting two awards, for Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor/Actress and Best On-Screen Partnership, which left Coronation Street, normally a traditional frontrunner with a tame three winners.  Michelle Keegan won Sexiest Female and there was a deserved Lifetime Achievement Award for Betty Driver, who is famous for Betty’s hotpots in the Rovers Return.  The most emotional part of the how evening was the fitting tribute to the dearly missed Maggie Jones.  Maggie, who played the hilarious Blanche Hunt, Deirdre Barlow’s mum in Coronation Street passed away last Christmas.  As the VT finished of her video tribute, the whole auditorium stood up in appreciation and applause, with many tears shed for a fantastic icon of Weatherfield.

However, the night firmly belonged as expected to EastEnders.  The other soaps have a lot to do over the next twelve months, to avoid this kind of whitewash from the Walford stars again.