JANE McDONALD RETURNS TO HOST THE BRITISH SOAP AWARDS FOR 2025

The British Soap Awards return to ITV later this year with a years hiatus, with The Sun newspaper reporting that Jane McDonald will once again host the series after replacing Phillip Schofield in 2023.

The British Soap Awards sees the five biggest soaps - Coronation Street, Doctors, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks - will be battling it out to win recognition for their work over the past year.

Some of the biggest faces from all five soaps hit the red carpet for the most star-studded and glamorous event in the soap calendar, celebrating all things Soaps - with star guests gracing the stage, looking back at explosive stunts and all those soap storylines that gripped the nation over the past year.

A source told The Sun: "The soaps are as popular as ever and currently delivering some brilliant must see TV so fans can expect a night to remember when The British Soap Awards returns. The British Soap Awards were hugely missed by everyone last year, it's the biggest night in the soap calendar so there's great excitement it's back."

Meanwhile, ITV announced that from January 2026,  Coronation Street and Emmerdale will move to a new scheduling pattern on ITV1, introducing a soaps power hour from Monday-Friday, with 30 minute Emmerdale episodes at 8pm, and 30 minute Coronation Street episodes at 8.30pm. Episodes will continue to drop at 7am on ITVX, before transmission that evening.

As part of the drive to bring the soaps to the biggest possible audiences, however they choose to watch, ITV launched a new dedicated home for soap on ITVX in 2024, and in 2025 will be pledging additional marketing support, with the aim of maintaining Coronation Street and Emmerdale’s leading position into the future.

The British Soap Awards air on ITV1 and ITVX.