ITV has confirmed that the British Soap Awards will not be returning until 2025.
The annual award ceremony, which honours the best in British soap including EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, Casualty and Doctors, has been a staple in the showbiz calendar for 24 years with the very first one taking place in 1999.
This year marked a change to proceedings after long-standing host Phillip Schofield stepped down from ITV after admitting to having had an "unwise, but not illegal" affair with a younger colleague while working on the broadcaster's flagship daytime show, This Morning.
This then led to TV bosses having to scramble to find a replacement with singer Jane McDonald swiftly drafted in, but she hasn't received a call back for 2024.Speaking about the decision to pull the plug, an ITV spokesperson told GB News: "The British Soap Awards won't be on air in 2024 but is set to return in 2025.
"The show was fantastically received in 2023, achieving consolidated figures of 2.9 million and doubling its audience year on year, so we look forward to the show's return."
The news will come as a particular disappointment to fans of soap Doctors, which the BBC announced last month would be ending after 23 years on the air with its final episodes set to air towards the end of 2024.
This means that it is likely to miss out on bagging any awards during its last year on the air.
EastEnders was the big winner at this year's ceremony, scooping Best Soap, and its stars Danielle Harold and Aaron Thiara won Best Leading Performer and Best Villain for their roles respectively.
