Coronation Street cleans up at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2024

Iona Rowan

25 December 2024 at 2:00 am·14-min read

digital spy reader awards 2024 soap peter ash, coronation street balvinder sopal, eastenders elisabeth dermot walsh, doctors diane parish, eastenders vicky myers, coronation street — Corrie cleans up at the Digital Spy Reader Awards BBC, ITV, Digital Spy

You turned up to vote for your soap favourites in the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2024, and the results are finally in. We'll be publishing the TV results and Movies results in the days to come, but who are the big winners in Soaps this year?

Read the full rundown below.

SOAP AWARDS

Best Actor

1. Balvinder Sopal - EastEnders

2. Peter Ash - Coronation Street

3.Isabelle Smith - Hollyoaks

4. David Neilson - Coronation Street

5. Eden Taylor-Draper - Emmerdale

Balvinder Sopal gets the most votes this year for her role as Suki Panesar in EastEnders, rising an impressive three places after finishing fourth in the same category last year.

Balvinder recorded us a little message to say thanks:

Earlier this year, Coronation Street's Paul Foreman was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and lived with the condition for 18 months before passing away in September. For his work on this devastating storyline, Peter Ash places second.

Other actors who have impressed viewers this year include Isabelle Smith, who plays Frankie Osborne in Hollyoaks, David Neilson for his role as Roy Cropper in Coronation Street, and Emmerdale's Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays Belle King.

Rising Star

1. Vicky Myers - Coronation Street

2. Sophie Khan Levy - EastEnders

3. Isabelle Smith - EastEnders

4. Olly Rhodes - Waterloo Road

5. Elijah Holloway - EastEnders

Coronation Street's Vicky Myers was signed up as a regular cast member earlier this year following three years of guest appearances in the role of DS Lisa Swain. The character is fast becoming a fixture on the cobbles, earning Myers the title of Rising Star.

In second place is EastEnders actor Sophie Khan Levy for her role as Priya-Nandra Hart, who was first introduced to fans last October.

Hollyoaks star Isabelle Smith has also earned a spot in the Rising Star category and places third, while other up-and-coming actors recognised by viewers include Olly Rhodes for his role as Billy Savage in Waterloo Road, and EastEnders' Elijah Holloway, who made his debut as Harry Mitchell in June.

Best Evening Soap

1. Coronation Street

2. EastEnders

3. Emmerdale

4. Hollyoaks

5. Waterloo Road

Coronation Street has claimed the crown Best Evening Soap this year, putting an end to EastEnders' impressive four-year winning streak in this category.

Producer Kate Brooks told us: "Thank you so much for these wonderful awards – it really means the absolute world to us all at Corrie, especially as they're voted by the viewers. We have such a fantastic, hardworking, resilient cast and crew, and every single member of the production team helps make Coronation Street the brilliant show it is.

"All the soaps are on fire at the moment, so to win 'Best Evening Soap' is such an honour. It truly is a great time to be a soap fan; so here's to the next twelve months of fabulous, heart-stopping drama."

EastEnders takes second place, while Emmerdale has been placed third.

Best Daytime Soap

1. Doctors

2. Neighbours

3. Home and Away

Doctors has been crowned Best Daytime Soap of 2024, earning well-deserved recognition in the wake of its final episode last month, which marked the end of the show's 24-year run.

Neighbours has been bumped to second place this year after reclaiming its winning title in 2023, while fellow Aussie soap Home and Away comes in at third.

Saddest Soap Moment

1. Paul Foreman’s death - Coronation Street

2. Zak Dingle’s funeral - Emmerdale

3. Liam Connor’s bullying comes to a head - Coronation Street

4. Gloria Knight’s death - EastEnders

5. Andrew’s cancer diagnosis - Waterloo Road

Paul Foreman’s powerful MND storyline really made an impact on viewers, and his death has been voted Saddest Soap Moment of the year.

Zak Dingle’s funeral on Emmerdale was another heart-wrenching moment for fans and takes second place, while the culmination of Liam Connor's harrowing bullying storyline on Coronation Street places third.

Rounding out the fourth and fifth spots in this category are Gloria Knight's death on EastEnders, and the moment Waterloo Road's Andrew discovered he had been diagnosed with cancer.

Best Soap Storyline

1. The Six cover up Keanu’s death - EastEnders

2. Paul’s MND - Coronation Street

3. Frankie and JJ's sibling sexual abuse storyline - Hollyoaks

4. Yolande Trueman’s sexual assault - EastEnders

5. Joel’s reign of terror - Coronation Street

The Six covering up Keanu Taylor's death on EastEnders has been crowned Best Soap Storyline of the year. The storyline first began with a flashforward episode in February 2023, while the explosive Christmas instalment solved the 10-month mystery by revealing that Linda Carter stabbed Keanu to death at The Vic, with Denise, Stacey, Sharon and Suki all present.

The group's attempts to cover up the crime have dominated the year, as the six women continue to grapple with guilt and the constant fear of being exposed.

Kellie Bright had this to say:

Paul’s emotional MND storyline on Coronation Street also places in this category and is your runner-up, while Hollyoaks' powerful exploration of sibling sexual abuse has placed third. The storyline began with Frankie Osborne recalling repressed memories of her brother JJ sexually abusing her as a child. Hollyoaks producers have been working with advocacy group SARSAS to shine a spotlight on the issue, which has traditionally been under-reported.

Yolande Trueman's devastating sexual assault on EastEnders was another powerful storyline this year and places fourth, while Joel Deering's reign of terror on Coronation Street comes in at fifth.

Best Soap Couple

1. Carla Connor and DS Lisa Swain - Coronation Street

2. Suki Panesar and Eve Unwin - EastEnders

3. Kat Slater and Alfie Moon - EastEnders

Photo credit: Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron - BBC

4. Paul Foreman and Billy Mayhew - Coronation Street

5. Patrick and Yolande Trueman - EastEnders

Coronation Street's winning streak in the 2024 awards continues with Best Soap Couple, which has been awarded to Carla Connor and DS Lisa Swain. The couple recently made their relationship official after their friendship took a romantic twist in October.

EastEnders' Suki Panesar and Eve Unwin may have been bumped from their number one from the 2023 awards, but the power couple are still proving popular with fans and place a respectable second on the podium.

Kat Slater and Alfie Moon recently rekindled their romance, with the pair admitting their feelings for one another and repeating iconic lines from their past in a beautifully nostalgic moment. The reunion has delighted viewers, earning them third place.

Rounding out the list are Coronation Street's Paul Foreman and Billy Mayhew at fourth, and EastEnders couple Patrick and Yolande Trueman at fifth.

OMG Soap Moment

1. Roy banged up for murder - Coronation Street

2. Lauren is still alive - Coronation Street

3. Jake Moon returns for Chrissie - EastEnders

4. Reiss kills his wife Debbie - EastEnders

5. Belle fights back against Tom with an axe - Emmerdale

It’s yet more success for Coronation Street, as the most shocking soap moment of the year goes to Roy Cropper being falsely arrested and charged for the murder of Lauren Bolton.

Corrie also takes the number two spot for the surprise return of Lauren Bolton. After being missing and presumed dead for months, fans were left stunned when Lauren returned to the cobbles, revealing she had been in hiding after being brutally attacked by evil groomer Joel Deering.

The return of Jake Moon on EastEnders was another shocking moment for fans this year, as was the scene where Reiss had killed his wife Debbie.

Emmerdale's Belle Dingle bravely fighting back against her evil ex Tom King with an axe has taken the fifth and final spot.