British Soap Awards cancelled next year and will return in 2025
We'll have to wait a couple of years before the next British Soap Awards land on our screen.
Soap fans, it's been confirmed that the anticipated British Soap Awards are being put on hold next year – but will be back on our screens in 2025.
This year's ceremony saw Jane MacDonald step in to hosting duties, with the likes of Coronation Street, Doctors, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks all competing for glory.
An ITV spokesperson told RadioTimes.com: "The British Soap Awards won't be on air in 2024 but is set to 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."
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While no reason has been given as to why the award ceremony, which usually airs on ITV, won't be going ahead in 2024, fans can at least rest easy knowing that it's not goodbye to the show, it'll just be taking a pause.
This year's ceremony saw the departure of regular host Phillip Schofield, with MacDonald helming the show for the evening. Some of the deserved winners of the year included Corrie's Charlotte Jordan for Best Dramatic Performance as well as EastEnders' Danielle Harold winning the award for Best Leading Performer.
Harold dedicated her award to everyone who had been directly affected by brain tumours, adding: "Their time has been so precious to them and even more to me and I can't thank all of you enough for helping me."
As well as securing wins on the night for Best Young Performer and Best Villain, EastEnders also took home the coveted award for Best British Soap.
The news of The British Soap Awards not returning for 2024 will likely come as a shock to soap fans, especially because of the plethora of hard-hitting storylines in the soaps right now and the expected Christmas and Boxing Day plots that are set to unfold.
One soap that will not be returning in 2025 is the beloved medical soap Doctors, which has been axed by the BBC after 23 years.
A statement from the BBC read upon the announcement: "We have taken the very difficult decision to bring daytime drama Doctors to an end after 23 years.
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"With super inflation in drama production, the cost of the programme has increased significantly, and further investment is also now required to refurbish the site where the show is made, or to relocate it to another home.
"With a flat licence fee, the BBC’s funding challenges mean we have to make tough choices in order to deliver greater value to audiences."
It continued: "We would like to thank all the Doctors cast and crew who have been involved in the show since 2000. We know the crucial role Doctors has played in nurturing talent, and we will work to develop new opportunities to support skills in scripted programming.
"The final episode will screen in December 2024, and we are working closely with BBC Studios to give it the finale it deserves."
Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
