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Coronation Street has once again been crowned Best Soap at the 2025 Inside Soap awards, marking its second consecutive win of the fan-voted title. Over 90,000 fans participated in the vote, seeing ITV’s flagship drama secure five accolades on Monday night.
Beyond Best Soap, Coronation Street also claimed Best Storyline for Mason Radcliffe’s death and Abi Webster’s PTSD following the brutal attack. Individual recognition went to Jack P Shepherd, who plays David Platt, for Best Comic Performance. Vicky Myers, known as Lisa Swain, took home Best Actress and Best Partnership, shared with Alison King’s Carla Connor.
Sarah Ellis, Inside Soap editor, said: “It’s been an incredible year of drama and the results in our best soap category were the closest they’ve ever been.”
BBC’s EastEnders also took home five awards, including best exit, which was won by James Bye, who played Martin Fowler until he was killed off during the 40th anniversary live episode in February, and best actor which was won by Steve McFadden for playing Phil Mitchell.
The best villain award was given to Navin Chowdhry for his portrayal of Nish Panesar, the calculating manipulative husband to Suki Panesar, played by Balvinder Sopal, who was killed by his son after being pushed off a balcony.
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Balvinder Sopal in Eastenders (BBC)
While Laura Doddington’s Nicola Mitchell won best newcomer, fans named EastEnders’ Heather Peace their soap superstar of 2025 for her portrayal of Eve Panesar-Unwin, calling her “a Northern powerhouse” and “an icon who has always fought for others”.
The ceremony saw ITV’s Emmerdale win the best family trophy with the Dingle clan claiming it for a fifth time – more than any other family in the history of the Inside Soap Awards – while teenager Amelia Flanagan was named best young performer for the fourth time.
Emmerdale also picked up the best showstopper accolade – a trophy awarded to a showcase stunt or episode – for the limo crash disaster which saw the soap submerge the vehicle in an icy lake, killing three beloved characters as the catastrophe unfolded.
Ellis added: “All of the soaps have shone brightly in 2025.
“The fact that this year’s trophies are so evenly spread just goes to show what a strong year the whole genre is having.
“There’s never been a more exciting time to be a soap fan!”
Fans named Casualty actor Michael Stevenson as the best drama star for his portrayal of the heroic paramedic Iain Dean while Neighbours’ Stefan Dennis picked best daytime star for his performance as villain Paul Robinson.
Inside Soap also awarded two outstanding achievement trophies this year, one to the cast and crew of Neighbours for delivering a year of drama ahead of the show coming to an end this December and another to Nick Pickard for his work playing Hollyoaks’ Tony Hutchinson for three decades.