Inside Soap Awards 2025 nominations are REVEALED with iconic category set to make surprise return after six years
After a string of iconic characters have bid farewell in recent months, bosses have brought back the Best Exit award.
A whole host of gripping storylines and showstopping moments, along with the iconic characters at the forefront of them, lead this year's nominations.
These include Corrie's Debbie being diagnosed with dementia, Phil's mental health struggles in EastEnders, Robert crashing Aaron and John's wedding in Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks ' hard-hitting teen sexual exploitation plot.
It comes at a time where many of TV's biggest soaps are facing huge shake-ups, with ITV favourites Coronation Street and Emmerdale set to have their weekly episode counts slashed in 2026.
Once again, a string of big names will battle it out for Best Actor, including Corrie's Jack P Shepherd, Emmerdale's Danny Miller and EastEnders' Steve McFadden.
Meanwhile nominees for Best Actress include Corrie's Sue Devanet, EastEnders' Lacey Turner, and Hollyoaks' Jennifer Metcalfe.
Nominations for Best Storyline once again include Debbie's battle with dementia on Corrie, Phil's mental health struggles in EastEnders, Joe Tate's fight for survival on Emmerdale, and Cleo's shocking abuse ordeal in Hollyoaks.
'The Inside Soap Awards remain the only trophies of their kind to be voted for entirely by the real experts – the soap viewing public,' said Inside Soap magazine editor Sarah Ellis. '
'Over 90,000 soap fans vote each and every year; and in addition to our list of nominees, our Soap Superstar category allows readers to put forward their own suggestions of who they feel deserves to be honoured.
'The past 12 months have been an epic time in soap, and I can't wait to see who the readers of Inside Soap have decided to crown their favourites this year.'
2025 also sees the return of the Best Exit category, paying tribute to those characters who've either met tragic ends, or moved on to pastures new this year.
'Sadly, we've had to say goodbye to some truly beloved soap characters over the past 12 months,' Sarah said.
''Who didn't cry their eyes out at Martin's shock death during EastEnders' live episode?
'And we're still not over poor Craig's tragic demise in Corrie, or the loss of Leyla and Amy in the devastating Emmerdale limo crash. But it's up to the fans which exit will get their vote.'
Voting for the Inside Soap Awards 2025 opens at midday on Tuesday, July 8, and winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony in London this September.
Fans can vote online by visiting www.insidesoap.co.uk/awards or by filling in the voting form in the Inside Soap magazine.
The move comes after it was revealed earlier this year how ITV bosses are slashing their soaps' episode count.
Emmerdale currently airs six episodes weekly, Monday to Friday with a double bill on Thursdays.
Meanwhile, Coronation Street also airs six episodes per week, with two episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Next year, only five 30-minute episodes of each show will air - a real terms cut to soap broadcast time of 17%.
Bosses will introduce a soaps power hour from Monday to Friday with 30-minute Emmerdale episodes airing at 8pm and 30-minute Coronation Street episodes airing at 8:30pm.
However, the start of the new 2026 schedule will at least be marked in style, as both soaps embark on an ambitious, never-before-seen stunt as part of a week of special episodes.
Defending the changes, ITV's Managing Director of Media and Entertainment Kevin Lygo said: 'The new commissioning pattern is viewer-led.
'We already give more choice than ever to viewers on how they watch us through ITVX and we want to present their favourite soap to them, in the most digestible way.'
'In a world where there is so much competition for viewers' time and attention, and viewing habits continue to change, we believe this is the right amount of episodes that fans can fit into their viewing schedule, to keep up to date with the shows.'
Over on the BBC, fans can watch new episodes of EastEnders from 6am on iPlayer before they're broadcast that evening on BBC One.
Inside Soap Awards 2025 Nominations
Best Actress
Cait Fitton (Lauren Bolton, Coronation Street)
Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster, Coronation Street)
Vicky Myers (Lisa Swain, Coronation Street)
Diane Parish (Denise Fox, EastEnders)
Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater, EastEnders)
Michelle Collins (Cindy Beale, EastEnders)
Amy Walsh (Tracy Robinson, Emmerdale)
Beth Cordingly (Ruby Miligan, Emmerdale)
Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle, Emmerdale)
Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne, Hollyoaks)
Jennifer Metcalfe (Mercedes McQueen, Hollyoaks)
Nadine Mulkerrin (Cleo McQueen, Hollyoaks)
Best Actor
Gareth Pierce (Todd Grimshaw, Coronation Street)
Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street)
Jacob Roberts (Kit Green, Coronation Street)
Paul Bradley (Nigel Bates, EastEnders)
Scott Maslen (Jack Branning, EastEnders)
Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell, EastEnders)
Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle, Emmerdale)
Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle, Emmerdale)
William Ash (Caleb Miligan, Emmerdale)
Ashley Taylor Dawson (Darren Osborne, Hollyoaks)
Kieron Richardson (Ste Hay, Hollyoaks)
Rory Douglas-Speed (Joel Dexter, Hollyoaks)
Best Comic Performance
Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street)
Jodie Prenger (Glenda Shuttleworth, Coronation Street)
Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson, EastEnders)
Tameka Empson (Kim Fox, EastEnders)
Michael Parr (Ross Barton, Emmerdale)
Nicola Wheeler (Nicola King, Emmerdale)
Jessamy Stoddart (Liberty Savage, Hollyoaks)
Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra McQueen, Hollyoaks)
Best Villain
Claire Sweeney (Cassie Plummer, Coronation Street)
Joe Layton (Mick Michaelis, Coronation Street)
Jonny Freeman (Reiss Colwell, EastEnders)
Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar, EastEnders)
Ned Porteous (Joe Tate, Emmerdale)
Oliver Farnworth (John Sugden, Emmerdale)
Gemma Bissix (Clare Devine, Hollyoaks)
Jeremy Sheffield (Jeremy Blake, Hollyoaks)
Best Young Performer
Liam McCheyne (Dylan Wilson, Coronation Street)
Ryan Mulvey (Brody Michaelis, Coronation Street)
Lillia Turner (Lily Slater, EastEnders)
Sonny Kendall (Tommy Moon, EastEnders)
Amelia Flanagan (April Windsor, Emmerdale)
Fred Kettle (Dylan Penders, Emmerdale)
Ava Webster (Ro Hutchinson, Hollyoaks)
Dan Hough (Arlo Fielding, Hollyoaks)
Best Newcomer
Jonathan Howard (Carl Webster, Coronation Street)
Ryan Mulvey (Brody Michaelis, Coronation Street)
Alice Haig (Vicki Fowler, EastEnders)
Laura Doddington (Nicola Mitchell, EastEnders)
Bradley Riches (Lewis Barton, Emmerdale)
Shebz Miah (Kammy Hadiq, Emmerdale)
Brandon Fellows (Tommy Odenkirk, Hollyoaks)
Zak Sutcliffe (Bobby Costello, Hollyoaks)
Best Exit
Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley, Coronation Street)
Colson Smith (Craig Tinker, Coronation Street)
James Bye (Martin Fowler, EastEnders)
Natalie Cassidy (Sonia Fowler, EastEnders)
Natalie Ann Jamieson (Amy Barton, Emmerdale)
Roxy Shahidi (Leyla Harding, Emmerdale)
Nikki Sanderson (Maxine Minniver, Hollyoaks)
Tyler Conti (Abe Fielding, Hollyoaks)
Best Family
The Platts (Coronation Street)
The Websters (Coronation Street)
The Fox-Truemans (EastEnders)
The Slaters (EastEnders)
The Dingles (Emmerdale)
The Miligans (Emmerdale)
The Blakes (Hollyoaks)
The Osbornes (Hollyoaks)
Best Partnership
Alison King & Vicky Myers (Carla Connor & Lisa Swain, Coronation Street)
Sue Devaney & Vinta Morgan (Debbie Webster & Ronnie Bailey, Coronation Street)
Angela Wynter & Rudolph Walker (Yolande & Patrick Trueman, EastEnders)
Diane Parish & Scott Maslen (Denise Fox & Jack Branning, EastEnders)
Beth Cordingly & William Ash (Ruby & Caleb Miligan, Emmerdale)
Danny Miller & Ryan Hawley (Aaron Dingle & Robert Sugden, Emmerdale)
Gemma Bissix & Tamara Wall (Clare Devine & Grace Black, Hollyoaks)
Harvey Virdi & Louis Emerick (Misbah Maalik & Donny Clark, Hollyoaks)
Best Storyline
Debbie's dementia (Coronation Street)
Mason's death & Abi's PTSD (Coronation Street)
Phil Mitchell: Hypermasculinity in crisis (EastEnders)
Who attacked Cindy? (EastEnders)
Joe Tate's wicked fight for survival (Emmerdale)
John's Hero Complex (Emmerdale)
Cleo's abuse at the hands of Abe (Hollyoaks)
Teenage sexual exploitation (Hollyoaks)
Best Showstopper
Awarded to a soap event that had the audience on the edge of their seats
Craig's death (Coronation Street)
The Platt house explodes (Coronation Street)
EastEnders at 40: Angie Watts returns (EastEnders)
Nish & Suki's final showdown (EastEnders)
Robert crashes Aaron & John's wedding (Emmerdale)
The Limo crash disaster (Emmerdale)
Clare Devine back from the dead (Hollyoaks)
Mercedes faces her cancer scars (Hollyoaks)
Best Daytime Star
Ethan Browne (Tane Parata, Home and Away)
Georgie Parker (Roo Stewart, Home and Away)
Nicholas Cartwright (Cash Newman, Home and Away)
Stephanie Panozzo (Eden Fowler, Home and Away)
Annie Jones (Jane Harris, Neighbours)
Lucinda Armstrong Hall (Holly Hoyland, Neighbours)
Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson, Neighbours)
Xavier Molyneux (Byron Stone, Neighbours)
Best Drama Star
Anna Chell (Jodie Whyte, Casualty)
Barney Walsh (Cam Mickelthwaite, Casualty )
Michael Stevenson (Iain Dean, Casualty)
Sarah Seggari (Rida Amaan, Casualty)
Hattie Dynevor (Libby Guthrie, Waterloo Road )
Jason Manford (Steve Savage, Waterloo Road)
Summer Bird (Tonya Walters, Waterloo Road)
Zak Sutcliffe (Schuey Weever, Waterloo Road)
Best Soap
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Hollyoaks
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