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Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Inside British Soap Awards afterparty - bleary-eyed stars smoking and bomb scare
A whole host of soap stars let their hair down at the British Soap Awards in London last night before a reported bomb scare ground the show's afterparty to a halt Stars of the nation's favourite soaps were papped looking bleary-eyed as they left the British Soap Awards in London last night. The glitzy event, which was held at Hackney Town Hall, celebrated the creative cast from a whole host of shows, including EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale. After the ceremony in which EastEnders waltzed away with an impressive eight gongs, beating Emmerdale, Corrie and Hollyoaks to take home Best British Soap, a slew of excitable stars let their hair down at the afterparty. Jaime Winstone, Patsy Palmer and Tina O'Brien were among those snapped at the bash, which went on until the early hours. Award-winning actor Ray Winstone's daughter, Jaime, was seen puffing on a cigarette, sporting a thigh-high white a gold dress as she left the venue with Bianca Jackson star, Patsy Palmer. Patsy looked stunning in a blue silk blazer and matching trousers, which set off her red hair a treat as she grinned after watching EastEnders clean up at the awards. Also representing EastEnders was Jack Branning star, Scott Maslen. He was also seen puffing on a cigarette, wearing a tux and holding a bottle of beer, as he celebrated the success of Albert Square. The actor was joined at the knees-up by fellow Walford wonders, Anita Dobson, who played the iconic Angie Watts, and Ian Beale star Adam Woodyatt. Meanwhile, representing Coronation Street, actress Tina O'Brien was seen making an exit from the after party in the early hours. She looked stunning in a floor-length nude coloured dress with gold sequins, clutching a baby pink bag as she made her way to her hotel in the capital. Also at the bash on behalf of Corrie, was actor Jack P Shepherd and Mollie Gallagher, who looked quite content chomping on a burger in the street, wearing a gorgeous powder blue dress with tuille detail and a cute black hair bow. Despite letting their hair down at the glamourous bash, the night allegedly ended abruptly for the soap stars after they were suddenly asked to leave the venue shortly before 1am after the event had reportedly received a bomb threat. Speaking to the Mirror, our source said: "We all got evacuated just before 1am. No reason was given at first and security came round and told us we had to leave immediately. "As we all waited in the street outside, security told us there had been a bomb threat. We weren't allowed back in the building so people started making their way home." In a video shared with us, some of TV's biggest soap stars can be seen waiting outside the venue as more evacuate - with the likes of ' and former star Emmett J Scanlan among them. A show source also told The Mirror: "Owing to a security alert after the recording of the awards, it was necessary to evacuate the after party venue. Everyone was cleared from the building safely." The Metropolitan Police also told us: "At 00:49hrs on Sunday, 1 June, police were called to Hackney Town Centre after a threat was made to the premises. The call was determined to be a hoax and nothing suspicious was located." The Mirror has contacted ITV. Despite the reported drama after the ceremony, the awards were a real celebration of the best the soap world has to offer. EastEnders was honoured with a total of eight awards- including Best Dramatic Performance for Steve McFadden and Best Single Episode for Phil Mitchell's psychosis. Meanwhile, Hollyoaks won three gongs, Emmerdale took home two and Coronation Street left with one - the Outstanding Achievement Award to David Neilson, who has played Roy Cropper for 30 years.
Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Corrie and Emmerdale face big changes as ITV turns spotlight on soap budgets
ITV's beloved soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale could be next in line for cutbacks, with insiders warning budget pressures and schedule shifts may change the shows as we know them After ITV's daytime television shakeup, it's feared the axe could fall again, with the channel's beloved soaps rumoured to be next on the chopping block. According to The Sun, there are whispers that beloved long-runners Coronation Street and Emmerdale could be next in line for dramatic cost-cutting measures. A TV insider confided to The Sun: 'After the Daytime announcement, the big feeling within the soap departments at ITV is the cost-cutting focus will shift to them. There's been some seismic changes already over the past year regarding penny pinching, and many believe that's just the start.' Both Coronation Street and Emmerdale have long been untouchable jewels in ITV's legacy. However, it seems the soaps are more exposed than ever before. 'Given the big audience figures and institutional history within ITV, soaps used to have an untouchable feel about them,' the source added. 'But that's changed significantly, and they now feel more vulnerable than ever.' From January 2026, both shows will be trimmed to five 30-minute episodes per week, dropping an hour of soap content. The rebrand? ITV's so-called 'Power Hour', with Emmerdale airing at 8 pm and Corrie following at 8:30 pm, Monday to Friday. While bosses have pitched the shake-up as a bold new chapter, it's far from a smooth sell behind the scenes. The move is expected to cut up to 75 jobs, and many crew members have reportedly already been drafted into redundancy meetings. The retirement of John Whiston, ITV's veteran Head of Continuing Drama, has only added to the uncertainty. In his place, Iain MacLeod has been promoted to Creative Director, overseeing both soaps with full editorial control. The consolidation has sparked fears of a quiet merger behind the scenes. With MacLeod now the final voice on both shows, staff are wondering if Emmerdale and Corrie will soon share more than just a time slot. Adding fuel to the fire is the much-talked-about crossover episode, the first of its kind set to air as a one-off launch for the new schedule. Although ITV execs have insisted the crossover is a one-off, an insider has told The Sun that this episode will be a mini cost-cutting experiment to see if the crew can work across both soaps. These claims have been strongly denied by ITV. An ITV spokeswoman said: "These claims aren't true. ITV has been clear that the crossover episode is a one-off occasion to launch the new scheduling pattern for Coronation Street and Emmerdale in January 2026. Both programmes will then continue to broadcast separate, individual episodes. The crossover episode will be purely story-driven and is a first for British Soap. "The idea certainly hasn't been conceived for financial reasons. In fact, the spectacular combined launch episode will cost a great deal more than regular episodes. We are proud to have the opportunity to be able to deliver this special moment for fans of both programmes." Despite ITV's denials, there is scepticism. The TV insider said this is a 'genuine glimpse into the future of how crewmembers will be expected to work, being across both soaps', adding: 'there's a feeling significant savings could be made on production costs even if the quality of the output will be seriously affected.' Another source told the publication that cast members on both soaps were 'fuming and concerned by cuts.' Earlier this year, The Sun revealed that Corrie bosses had tightened the purse strings by reducing cast appearances to curb fees, favouring fresher, lower-cost faces over older stars. The daytime television cull at ITV has definitely blindsided many people with Loose Women and Lorraine scaled back drastically, despite solid ratings and recent accolades. Once upon a time, soaps were ITV's proudest exports. However, they may soon be second-tier citizens, with the focus shifting to prestige dramas like Mr Bates vs. The Post Office and sporting events, which are both revenue drivers. Like the Daytime shows, some fear that Emmerdale and Corrie might soon find themselves fighting for survival.
