British Soap Awards cancelled for second year in a row

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 30 April 2021

ITV confirms that the British Soap Awards has been cancelled for the second year in a row due to coronavirus.

ITV has confirmed that the British Soap Awards have been cancelled for a second successive year due to coronavirus.

The annual ceremony - hosted by Phillip Schofield - has been running since 1999 and traditionally takes place in May but was called off in 2020 just as the UK entered its first coronavirus lockdown.

Although the situation has vastly improved one year on, ITV has decided to forego the ceremony again in light of the ongoing social distancing restrictions as well as the potential health danger of having casts of all the major soaps in the same place at the same time.

A spokesman said: "As a result of the pandemic, and following careful consideration of the ongoing safety measures in place for both drama productions and live events, ITV can confirm that the British Soap Awards will not take place this year.

"We look forward to hosting the awards again, when it is safe to do so and honouring the actors and shows that are so close to viewers' hearts."

Production on all of the soaps shut down last year for a period, although ITV's decision to ration episodes meant that both Coronation Street and Emmerdale avoided going off air.

Meanwhile, the BBC's EastEnders was off air for almost three months, while Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks was forced to take a break of around seven weeks.

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