Inside Soap magazine
Soap fans, it’s time to have your say – the Inside Soap Awards are back for their 29th year!
The longlist for the 2025 ceremony has been announced today, celebrating the best storylines, performances and plot twists from the last 12 months.
With no time to waste, the voting will open online from midday today (Tuesday 8 July) – so make sure to check back on this page then as we’ll reveal the online voting link where you can choose your favourites!
Competition is sure to be fierce after another unforgettable year in soap. We’ve had all the drama of EastEnders‘ 40th anniversary celebrations, fiery peril for the Platts in Coronation Street, the spectacular limo crash in Emmerdale and the harrowing exploitation story involving the teens in Hollyoaks.
ITV
There have been shock comebacks – including Emmerdale‘s Robert Sugden boldly gatecrashing Aaron Dingle’s wedding and Hollyoaks‘ Clare Devine making an outrageous return from the dead – as soap bosses managed to lure back popular faces from the past to shake things up.
All of these moments and many more are reflected in this year’s nominations, along with nods for some of your favourite stars from Aussie soaps Neighbours and Home and Away, and long-running dramas Casualty and Waterloo Road.
This year also sees the return of the very special Soap Superstar prize, which gives fans the chance to nominate someone who’s gone above and beyond when it comes to providing entertainment over the last year.
ITV
“The Inside Soap Awards remain the only trophies of their kind to be voted for entirely by the real experts – the soap viewing public,” says Inside Soap magazine editor Sarah Ellis.
“Over 90,000 soap fans vote each and every year; and in addition to our list of nominees, our Soap Superstar category allows readers to put forward their own suggestions of who they feel deserves to be honoured.
“The past 12 months have been an epic time in soap, and I can’t wait to see who the readers of Inside Soap have decided to crown their favourites this year.”
As several much-loved stars bowed out from the soap world this year – some with happier endings than others – a Best Exit category has been added to the awards.
ITV
“Sadly, we’ve had to say goodbye to some truly beloved soap characters over the past 12 months,” notes editor Sarah Ellis. “Who didn’t cry their eyes out at Martin’s shock death during EastEnders’ live episode?
“And we’re still not over poor Craig’s tragic demise in Corrie, or the loss of Leyla and Amy in the devastating Emmerdale limo crash. But it’s up to the fans which exit will get their vote.”
The full list of nominations follows below.
Jump to:
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Comic Performance
Best Villain
Best Young Performer
Best Newcomer
Best Exit
Best Family
Best Partnership
Best Storyline
Best Showstopper
Best Daytime Star
Best Drama Star
Best Soap
Best Actress
Cait Fitton (Lauren Bolton, Coronation Street)
Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster, Coronation Street)
Vicky Myers (Lisa Swain, Coronation Street)
Diane Parish (Denise Fox, EastEnders)
Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater, EastEnders)
Michelle Collins (Cindy Beale, EastEnders)
Amy Walsh (Tracy Robinson, Emmerdale)
Beth Cordingly (Ruby Miligan, Emmerdale)
Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle, Emmerdale)
Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne, Hollyoaks)
Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes McQueen, Hollyoaks)
Nadine Mulkerrin (Cleo McQueen, Hollyoaks)
ITV
Best Actor
Gareth Pierce (Todd Grimshaw, Coronation Street)
Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street)
Jacob Roberts (Kit Green, Coronation Street)
Paul Bradley (Nigel Bates, EastEnders)
Scott Maslen (Jack Branning, EastEnders)
Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell, EastEnders)
Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle, Emmerdale)
Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle, Emmerdale)
William Ash (Caleb Miligan, Emmerdale)
Ashley Taylor Dawson (Darren Osborne, Hollyoaks)
Kieron Richardson (Ste Hay, Hollyoaks)
Rory Douglas-Speed (Joel Dexter, Hollyoaks)
Best Comic Performance
Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street)
Jodie Prenger (Glenda Shuttleworth, Coronation Street)
Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson, EastEnders)
Tameka Empson (Kim Fox, EastEnders)
Michael Parr (Ross Barton, Emmerdale)
Nicola Wheeler (Nicola King, Emmerdale)
Jessamy Stoddart (Liberty Savage, Hollyoaks)
Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra McQueen, Hollyoaks)
Best Villain
Claire Sweeney (Cassie Plummer, Coronation Street)
Joe Layton (Mick Michaelis, Coronation Street)
Jonny Freeman (Reiss Colwell, EastEnders)
Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar, EastEnders)
Ned Porteous (Joe Tate, Emmerdale)
Oliver Farnworth (John Sugden, Emmerdale)
Gemma Bissix (Clare Devine, Hollyoaks)
Jeremy Sheffield (Jeremy Blake, Hollyoaks)
ITV
Best Young Performer
Liam McCheyne (Dylan Wilson, Coronation Street)
Ryan Mulvey (Brody Michaelis, Coronation Street)
Lillia Turner (Lily Slater, EastEnders)
Sonny Kendall (Tommy Moon, EastEnders)
Amelia Flanagan (April Windsor, Emmerdale)
Fred Kettle (Dylan Penders, Emmerdale)
Ava Webster (Ro Hutchinson, Hollyoaks)
Dan Hough (Arlo Fielding, Hollyoaks)
Best Newcomer
Jonathan Howard (Carl Webster, Coronation Street)
Ryan Mulvey (Brody Michaelis, Coronation Street)
Alice Haig (Vicki Fowler, EastEnders)
Laura Doddington (Nicola Mitchell, EastEnders)
Bradley Riches (Lewis Barton, Emmerdale)
Shebz Miah (Kammy Hadiq, Emmerdale)
Brandon Fellows (Tommy Odenkirk, Hollyoaks)
Zak Sutcliffe (Bobby Costello, Hollyoaks)
Best Exit
Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley, Coronation Street)
Colson Smith (Craig Tinker, Coronation Street)
James Bye (Martin Fowler, EastEnders)
Natalie Cassidy (Sonia Fowler, EastEnders)
Natalie Ann Jamieson (Amy Barton, Emmerdale)
Roxy Shahidi (Leyla Harding, Emmerdale)
Nikki Sanderson (Maxine Minniver, Hollyoaks)
Tyler Conti (Abe Fielding, Hollyoaks)
BBC
Best Family
The Platts (Coronation Street)
The Websters (Coronation Street)
The Fox-Truemans (EastEnders)
The Slaters (EastEnders)
The Dingles (Emmerdale)
The Miligans (Emmerdale)
The Blakes (Hollyoaks)
The Osbornes (Hollyoaks)
Best Partnership
Alison King & Vicky Myers (Carla Connor & Lisa Swain, Coronation Street)
Sue Devaney & Vinta Morgan (Debbie Webster & Ronnie Bailey, Coronation Street)
Angela Wynter & Rudolph Walker (Yolande & Patrick Trueman, EastEnders)
Diane Parish & Scott Maslen (Denise Fox & Jack Branning, EastEnders)
Beth Cordingly & William Ash (Ruby & Caleb Miligan, Emmerdale)
Danny Miller & Ryan Hawley (Aaron Dingle & Robert Sugden, Emmerdale)
Gemma Bissix & Tamara Wall (Clare Devine & Grace Black, Hollyoaks)
Harvey Virdi & Louis Emerick (Misbah Maalik & Donny Clark, Hollyoaks)
Best Storyline
Debbie’s dementia (Coronation Street)
Mason’s death & Abi’s PTSD (Coronation Street)
Phil Mitchell: Hypermasculinity in crisis (EastEnders)
Who attacked Cindy? (EastEnders)
Joe Tate’s wicked fight for survival (Emmerdale)
John’s Hero Complex (Emmerdale)
Cleo’s abuse at the hands of Abe (Hollyoaks)
Teenage sexual exploitation (Hollyoaks)
Lime Pictures
Best Showstopper
Awarded to a soap event that had the audience on the edge of their seats
Craig’s death (Coronation Street)
The Platt house explodes (Coronation Street)
EastEnders at 40: Angie Watts returns (EastEnders)
Nish & Suki’s final showdown (EastEnders)
Robert crashes Aaron & John’s wedding (Emmerdale)
The Limo crash disaster (Emmerdale)
Clare Devine back from the dead (Hollyoaks)
Mercedes faces her cancer scars (Hollyoaks)
Best Daytime Star
Ethan Browne (Tane Parata, Home and Away)
Georgie Parker (Roo Stewart, Home and Away)
Nicholas Cartwright (Cash Newman, Home and Away)
Stephanie Panozzo (Eden Fowler, Home and Away)
Annie Jones (Jane Harris, Neighbours)
Lucinda Armstrong Hall (Holly Hoyland, Neighbours)
Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson, Neighbours)
Xavier Molyneux (Byron Stone, Neighbours)
Best Drama Star
Anna Chell (Jodie Whyte, Casualty)
Barney Walsh (Cam Mickelthwaite, Casualty )
Michael Stevenson (Iain Dean, Casualty)
Sarah Seggari (Rida Amaan, Casualty)
Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie, Waterloo Road )
Jason Manford (Steve Savage, Waterloo Road)
Summer Bird (Tonya Walters, Waterloo Road)
Zak Sutcliffe (Schuey Weever, Waterloo Road)
Best Soap
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Hollyoaks
The Inside Soap Awards will take place at a star-studded ceremony in London in September.
To tie in with the voting launch today, this week’s issue of Inside Soap magazine is a bumper edition, jam-packed full of extra interviews and awards content.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be bringing you much more news and features surrounding the ceremony and the nominees, so be sure to keep an eye on the Inside Soap pages here on Digital Spy.
You should also look out for the annual nominees photoshoots in upcoming issues of Inside Soap magazine, as well as our exclusive online videos taking you behind the scenes with the casts as they get glammed up for their photos.
