British Soap Awards: Everything we know as new host is revealed

Jane McDonald has been announced as the host of 2023 British Soap Awards, taking over hosting duties from Phillip Schofield who recently quit ITV amid an ongoing scandal.

After quitting This Morning, Phillip Schofield, 61, issued a statement saying: “I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me – especially This Morning’s amazing viewers – and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.”

Read more: Who are the favourites to host This Morning next?

However, things have changed significantly since then and on 26 May Schofield announced that he had quit ITV entirely – leaving the Soap Awards gig he has held since 2006.

Here is everything we know about the British Soap Awards 2023...

The British Soap Awards date

The British Soap Awards — billed as 'the biggest night of the year' for soaps — will take place on Saturday, 3 June, at The Lowry in Salford.

The annual event is a celebration of all things soap awarding gongs for best soap, best actor, best family, best scene and more, with some voted for by the public, and some by an expert panel.

Who has replaced Phillip Schofield as host of the British Soap Awards?

Just two days before the big event, Jane McDonald was revealed as the person set to take over as host of the British Soap Awards.

McDonald shared a statement about the role on Instagram in which she said: "Everyone knows how much I LOVE my soaps, this year I've been honoured to be mentioned in Corrie, EastEnders and Emmerdale so this is just a dream come true.

"I can't wait to see all our wonderful soap nominees and celebrate all their hard work with them – roll on the awards, I can't wait."

How long had Phillip Schofield hosted the British Soap Awards?

Before he had stepped down, Phillip Schofield had presented the annual event, which is also an ITV production, since 2006 when he and Fern Britton took over the reins from Paul O'Grady.

He hosted the show solo since 2009, only missing out when the 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the pandemic.

How to watch the British Soap Awards

The British Soap Awards will air on ITV1 and stream on ITVX in June, with some of the biggest faces from all five UK soaps — Coronation Street, Doctors, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks — expected to attend.

Watch: Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary pay tribute to Phillip Schofield