The British Soap Awards have been cancelled for next year, leaving fans to speculate on the reason why, months after Jane McDonald warned rave reviews for hosting the annual event.
The Soap Awards, which have been on TV for decades, fell under some controversy earlier this year, when presenter Phillip Schofield, despite reassuring fans he’d still be hosting event after his exit from This Morning, cut all ties with ITV, following his admission of an affair with a much younger employee on the daytime show.
That left Soap Awards bosses in the lurch with just weeks to go until the ceremony and, after speculation that the job was going to go to either Joel Dommett or Dermot O’Leary, it was national treasure Jane who got the high profile gig, going onto earn plenty of praise for her presenting debut, so much so that many viewers called for her to be handed the role on a permanent basis.
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However, neither Jane or any other star will be doing the honours in 2024, as it was announced on Wednesday that the British Soap Awards had been put on ‘pause’ for a year. Confirming the decision to scrap next year’s event, while insisting that it WILL return, an ITV spokesperson said: “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.”
Big winners on the night this year included EastEnders for Best Soap, the BBC show’s star, Danielle Harold for Leading Performer, after her character Lola’s tragic storyline and Emmerdale’s Mark Charnock, who was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement accolade.
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