Neighbours' Susan Kennedy storms to victory as she's named Soap Champion

After some close battles, the final came down to long-time Neighbours legend Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne) and EastEnders favourite Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden).

But there could be only one winner. As voting closed at 10:30am this morning, Susan emerged triumphant with 68 per cent of support in the grand final.

Congratulations to Neighbours fans, cast and crew for the epic win – particularly Woodburne, who has won the hearts of fans over almost three decades on the soap.

Read more:

• Coronation Street airs horrifying twist as Ryan Connor is acid attack victim
• Michelle Keegan sports 1950s look in first pictures from new BBC drama

In total, more than 225,000 votes were cast in the Soap Champion grand final alone, with 155,792 of those going to Susan, while Ben received a total of 73,559.

Neighbours enjoyed a strong showing across the entire tournament, with the semi-final also dominated by the Aussie drama, as Mike Young (Guy Pearce) and Toadie Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) were also in contention at that stage.

The strength of its support comes following a rollercoaster year for the soap, in which it was suddenly axed and aired an emotional finale, before being rescued by Amazon Freevee for a brand new season due later this year.

Last week, it was announced that Neighbours would return to filming in April, with a premiere for the brand new episodes currently expected in the autumn.

Woodburne is reprising her Soap Champion role of Susan Kennedy, alongside semi-finalist Ryan Moloney as well as co-stars Alan Fletcher, Stefan Dennis and April Rose Pengilly.

Ahead of the new season, an archive of older Neighbours episodes is now available to stream on Amazon Freevee, including some truly unforgettable moments.

Neighbours is available to stream on Amazon Freevee. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.