British Soap Awards 2019: Hollyoaks WINS Best British Soap for the first time in five years... as Coronation Street scoops the most gongs despite mass cast exodus
The cast of Hollyoaks celebrated as the TV show won the Best British Soap gong at the British Soap Awards 2019 on Saturday.
Picking up the coveted gong, the talented actors - including Stephanie Davis and Chelsee Healey - were visibly emotional as they celebrated their first Best British Soap Award win since 2014.
The cast and crew climbed up onto the stage at Salford's Lowry Theatre in their droves to celebrate their exciting win, heaping praise on show boss Bryan Kirkwood.
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We did it! The cast of Hollyoaks celebrated as the TV show won the Best British Soap gong at the British Soap Awards 2019 on Saturday (above Jessica Fox who plays Nancy Hayton)
Selfie: Picking up the coveted gong, the talented actors - including Stephanie Davis and Chelsee Healey - were visibly emotional as they celebrated their first Best British Soap Award win since 2014
Despite being cut off by the evening's main presenter, Phillip Schofield, as the live transmission ran out of time, the cast then whipped out their phones and snapped countless selfies.
They passed around the collective award and were seen kissing it, and posing with it.
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Jessica Fox, who has played Nancy Hayton since 2005, said: 'Holy crumbs. I'm literally hyperventilating.
'Thank you so much. We want to say a massive thank you to all of our viewers, thank you for voting for us. We are so excited and thrilled. Thank you so much
Yes! The cast and crew climbed up onto the stage at Salford's Lowry Theatre in their droves to celebrate their exciting win, heaping praise on show boss Bryan Kirkwood
Weyyyy: Adam Rickitt and Ray Quinn couldn't hide their delight at the win
Success story: Stars Talia Grant and Stephanie Waring celebrated on-stage
'The fans push us to do the hard-hitting storylines, they want to see diversity on their screens and we hope we represent that for you.'
Hollyoaks matched Coronation Street with nominations, bagging an impressive 14 nods.
It was a successful night for the soap, which also saw actor Adam Woodward (Brody Hudson) win Best Male Dramatic Performance, Nathan Sussex (Buster Smith) win for Best Villain and Gregory Finnegan (James Nightingale) pick up Best Actor.
Gregory Finnegan said that winning Best Actor for Hollyoaks made it 'worth missing the football' - referencing the Champions League, which clashed with Saturday's soap event, much to the chagrin of an obviously-miffed Danny Dyer, who lost out on the same award.
Hollyoaks last picked up the Best Soap Award award in 2014, losing out last year to Coronation Street.
Snap happy: The cast and crew snapped away as they celebrated the win
Coronation Street were the top winners on the night, picking up five awards.
The British Soap Awards 2019 saw Coronation Street's suicide plot scooping two accolades - Best Single Episode and Best Storyline.
Actor Shayne Ward, who portrayed Aidan Connor on the ITV soap until his character tragically took his own life this time last year, appeared to co-accept the award, with the episode's director.
Beating away the competition - 'And The Beat Goes On…' (Doctors), 'Consent' (EastEnders), 'Chas And Paddy Say Goodbye To Baby Grace' (Emmerdale) and 'Where Do I Belong?' (Hollyoaks) - Shayne, 34, took to the stage, where he fought back tears to say: 'I was not meant to be coming here tonight. So thank you to the Coronation Street team for ringing me and asking me.
'This is amazing, thank you. But it's a collective effort, never a solo effort, told with heart and truth.
Big night: Gregory Finnegan picked up the Best Actor gong for his role on the soap as James Nightingale
Here come the boys: Adam Woodward (Brody Hudson) won Best Male Dramatic Performance, while Nathan Sussex (Buster Smith) won for Best Villain
'The impact that suicide has is ongoing. Guys don’t talk enough. We need to use this platform to tackle this'
The former-X Factor winner went on: 'Thanks so much for this - it was a great episode to do. And thank you to the sensitive, brilliant cast and crew who worked to make this happen.'
Sue Nicholls - who has played Audrey Roberts for the past 40 years - took home the Outstanding Achievement award for her role, kickstarting her acceptance by saying: 'It's ridiculous - I was paid to do it.'
Gail Platt's (Helen Worth) haunting monologue won Scene of the Year while the fifth and final triumph for the cobbles was Alexandra Mardell (Emma Brooker) winning the Best Newcomer award.
Emotional: Coronation Street 's suicide plot scooped two accolades with actor Shayne Ward, who portrayed Aidan Connor on the ITV soap until his character tragically took his own life this time last year, fighting back tears to accept the prize
We did it: Sue Nicholls - who has played Audrey Roberts for the past 40 years - took home the Outstanding Achievement award for her role, kickstarting her acceptance by saying: 'It's r idiculous - I was paid to do it'
This comes amid the popular soap's mass cast exodus, which has seen the exit of seven cast members in just three months.
Lucy Fallon was the latest to announce she had quit the soap, as she told MailOnline in a statement she would say goodbye to the cobbles in 2020.
Faye Brookes, 31, will also exit Weatherfield after four years as Kate Connor. Her character was recently left devastated after her wife-to-be Rana Habeeb was killed on their wedding day.
The star told The Sun: 'It’s the end of my contract. It’s come to an end. I want to go out on a high.
'I’ve had a lot of storylines to be fair. I’ve loved my four years. I’m really grateful to Corrie to leave it open ended because it means I can come back.'
Winner: Gail Platt's (Helen Worth) haunting monologue won Scene of the Year
This comes after it was claimed that upset has been brewing behind the scenes, as several stars are unhappy with the vast differences in salary.
A source adds that the pay gaps have been an 'open secret' among the cast, with many stars earning more money for far less screen time.
They said: 'Lucy is just the latest to get fed up of seeing great opportunities go to waste because Corrie won't let her take them on.'
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Coronation Street for comment.
It has also been claimed that cast members are demanding producers lift a ban on stars appearing in panto, with similar limits being put on the stars cashing in with big-money endorsement deals.
Wow: While the fifth and final triumph for the cobbles was Alexandra Mardell (Emma Brooker) winning the Best Newcomer award
The Irish Sun goes onto claim that many stars are upset with the recent changes to working hours, which require cast members to not only work weekends, but be on call to film scenes anytime during the day or night.
With this recent upset, sources claim that the opportunities available away from the Corrie cobbles have become more and more appealing.
Fans have recently blamed showrunner Iain MacLeod for the increase in cast departures, as it's reported many stars miss former producer Kate Oates, who quit in May 2018.
Sources have told MailOnline that Iain is not to blame for the numerous cast departures, but it can be noted that during his stint as Emmerdale boss from 2016 to 2018, ten cast members quit in a year.
