Britain’s favourite stars were in abundance tonight at Flridita in London’s Wardour Street as the long awaited Inside Soap Awards finally got underway. Functionpix were invited to attend and to follow this prestigious event sponsored by Littlewoods and to find out who was to be crowned King & Queen of the soaps. Eastenders Vs Coronation Street, Emmerdale V’s Hollyoaks – the wait is finally over as the Inside Soap Awards got underway.

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Attending the event were Phil Daniels (Kevin Wicks, EastEnders) Debra Stephenson (Coronation Street) Patsy Kensit (Sadie King, Emmerdale) Ellis Hollins (Tom Cunningham, Hollyoaks)

EastEnders beat rival Coronation Street to win ‘best soap’ for the ninth year running. The BBC One show took a total of seven awards, including the best storyline prize for Dirty Den's murder.

Coronation Street picked up a total of 6 awards - The best actress prize for Sally Lindsay - who plays Shelley Unwin. Emmerdale and Bad Girls were the only other shows to win awards at this years Inside Soap Awards.

 Letitia Dean (EastEnders' Sharon Watts) picked up the coveted award for outstanding achievement, while Nigel Harman, who plays her on-screen husband Dennis Rickman, took the awards for both best actor and sexiest male for the second year running. Functionpix reporter Pascal Molliere asked him about his work, Harman said: "A lot of hard work has been put into the show this year." And Dean said about her individual award: "It's lovely, because I've been involved in the show for such a long time."

The fantastic on-screen harmony between June Brown and John Bardon (EastEnders' Dot and Jim Branning) helped them scoop the award for best couple.

EastEnders' Tracy-Ann completed the Eastenders bonanza for the evening with winning the best dressed prize.

Functionpix spoke to Coronation Street's Lindsay after the ceremony who said: "It's great, fabulous. I've never won an award for best actress before." She said it had been a challenge portraying the mental problems suffered by her character as a result of relationship difficulties. "It's been very difficult because I never knew anything about panic attacks or agoraphobia," Lindsay said.

"It's amazing how many people helped me out and how many people come up to me now and say, 'I have panic attacks'. "I just worked as hard as I could and researched my character as hard as I could."

Bill Ward, who plays Lindsay's on-screen lover Charlie Stubbs, said he was "delighted and chuffed to bits" at his best bad boy award. He added: "It's important that Charlie got his comeuppance and I'm delighted for Sally. She really worked hard this year. She deserves it."

The sexiest female award for Samia Smith, who plays Coronation Street's Maria Sutherland, was among the ITV soap's other triumphs.

Antony Cotton, who plays camp factory worker Sean Tully, took the funniest performance and best newcomer prizes.

Kate Ford, who plays Tracy Barlow, won best bitch, beating Emmerdale's Patsy Kensit.

It was a good night for the actors playing Emmerdale's Dingle family as they walked away with the best family award, as well as the best young actor prize for Charley Webb (Debbie Dingle).

Steven Murphy, editor of Inside Soap, said: "It's been a hard fought year but I'm delighted that the big three soaps have each come away with some fabulous awards.

"It was a privilege to have Letitia Dean accept our outstanding achievement award - roll on next year."

Inside Soap Editor, Steven Murphy, said before the event: “We’re really excited about the Best Soap Award this year – I’ve contemplated taking bets on whether Emmerdale or Corrie will beat EastEnders for the first time! The Bad Boys category has some fantastically nasty characters and the competition for Best Family is hot – they’re all immersed in such controversy and deceit, you certainly wouldn’t want to be related to any of them! The Inside Soap Awards is the biggest soap party of the year, so it gives all the actors a chance to forget the script and create some drama of their own.”

Nominated for best actor was Bradley Walsh (Danny Baldwin, Coronation Street), Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell, EastEnders), James Hooten (Sam Dingle, Emmerdale) and Ross Kemp (Grant Mitchell, EastEnders)

In the Best Actress category was Lacey Turner (EastEnders); Ursula Holden-Gill (Emmerdale); Sarah Dunn (Hollyoaks); Kate Ford (Coronation Street)

As the battle for ratings rages on, the soaps continue to pull out all the stops to provide viewers with some of the most dramatic twists and turns in soap history.   Inside Soap readers have been casting their all important votes since July, to determine who will walk away with soap-land’s most prestigious awards.

The scrap begins for the Best Bitch award – will Emmerdale’s scheming Sadie King steal the crown from Corrie’s Tracy Barlow or will EastEnders’ Chrissie Watts wipe the floor with both of them? Will Hollyoaks’ Justin and Becca’s forbidden love top the poll for Best Storyline or will the Mitchells’ return to defeat Chrissie steal the prize? Which star has the nation lusting after them for Sexiest Male? And most importantly, who will scoop that all-important Best Soap trophy? The competition is fierce!

Sexiest Female: Debra Stephenson (Coronation Street); Kara Tointon (EastEnders); Samia Smith (Coronation Street); Patsy Kensit (Emmerdale)

Best Soap: Coronation Street; EastEnders; Emmerdale; Hollyoaks; Home And Away; Neighbours

Best Actor: Bradley Walsh (Coronation Street); Steve McFadden (EastEnders); James Hooten (Emmerdale); Ross Kemp (EastEnders)

Sexiest Male: Richard Fleeshman (Coronation Street); Tom Lister (Emmerdale); Ross Kemp (EastEnders); Bill Ward (Coronation Street)

Soap royalty attendees from 2005 included Letitia Dean, Sally Lindsay, Nigel Harman, Bill Ward, Kate Ford, Samia Smith, Tina O’Brien Tracy-Ann Oberman, Sarah Dunn, Ali Bastian, Gemma Atkinson, Mark Charnock, Charley Webb and Verity Rushworth.

Bradley Walsh, Helen Flanagan, Antony Cotton, Richard Fleeshman, Samia Smith, Bill Ward, Rupert Hill, Helen Worth

Kara Tointon, Joe Swash, Joel Beckett, Rob Kazinsky, Tiana Benjamin, Natalie Cassidy, Charlie Clements, Lacey Turner, Louisa Lytton, Emma Barton, Perry Fenwick

Kelvin Fletcher, Ursula Holden Gill, Lucy Pargeter, Adele Silva, Charley Webb, James Hooton, Sammy Winward, Matt Healy, Roxanne Pallett

Chris Fountain, Kevin Sacre, Matt Littler, Cassie Powney, Connie Powney, Marcus Patrick, Christina Bailey, Gemma Merna

Luke Roberts, Tom Chambers, Rosie Marcel, Paul Henshall

SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2006 INSIDE SOAP AWARDS

EastEnders goes for ten straight victories in Best Soap category…whilst the claws are out as Patsy Kensit and Kate Ford compete for Best Bitch once more

The countdown has begun, in just one week the nation’s soap stars will descend on London’s Floridita, in the heart of London’s West End to find out who will be awarded this year’s top soap accolades. 

The short-listed nominees in the running for the 2006 Inside Soap Awards sponsored by Littlewoods are revealed today…..

The lucky winners will be revealed at the celeb packed Inside Soap Awards Party on Monday 25 September. Highlights of the ceremony will be broadcast on ITV1’s This Morning on Tuesday 26 September, featuring exclusive star interviews.

For the first time ever voting in Best Soap category is open until the day of the awards – Monday 25 September. Readers should cast their votes by visiting website www.InsideSoap.co.uk.

• Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater, EastEnders)
• Ursula Holden-Gill (Alice Dingle, Emmerdale)
• Sarah Dunn (Mandy Hutchinson, Hollyoaks)
• Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow, Coronation Street)

• Richard Fleeshman (Craig Harris, Coronation Street)
• Tom Lister (Carl King, Emmerdale)
• Ross Kemp (Grant Mitchell, EastEnders)
• Bill Ward (Charlie Stubbs, Coronation Street)

• Debra Stephenson (Frankie Baldwin, Coronation Street)
• Kara Tointon (Dawn Swann, EastEnders)
• Samia Smith (Maria Sutherland, Coronation Street)
• Patsy Kensit (Sadie King, Emmerdale)

• Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street)
• Eden Taylor-Draper (Bell Dingle, Emmerdale)
• Richard Fleeshman(Craig Harris, Coronation Street)
• Ellis Hollins (Tom Cunningham, Hollyoaks)

• Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell, EastEnders)
• Jenna-Louise Coleman (Jasmine Thomas, Emmerdale)
• Charlie Clements (Bradley Branning, EastEnders)
• Nikki Patel (Amber Kalarai, Coronation Street)

• Bill Ward (Charlie Stubbs, Coronation Street)
• Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle, Emmerdale)
• Billy Murray (Johnny Allen, EastEnders)
• Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson, Neighbours)

• Patsy Kensit (Sadie King, Emmerdale)
• Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow, Coronation Street)
• Tracy-Ann Oberman (Chrissie Watts, EastEnders)
• Natalie Bassingthwaighte (Izzy Hoyland, Neighbours)

• Ursula Holden-Gill and James Hooten (Alice and Sam Dingle, Emmerdale)
• Lacey Turner and Charlie Clements (Stacey Slater and Bradley Branning, EastEnders)
• Helen Flanagan and Richard Fleeshman (Rosie Webster and Craig Harris, Coronation Street)
• Emma Barton and Perry Fenwick (Honey and Billy Mitchell, EastEnders)

• Phil Daniels (Kevin Wicks, EastEnders)
• Charlie Hardwick (Val Lambert, Emmerdale)
• Antony Cotton (Sean Tully, Coronation Street)
• Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole, Coronation Street)

• Baldwins (Coronation Street)
• The Mitchells (EastEnders)
• The Dingles (Emmerdale)
• Battersby-Browns(Coronation Street)

• Samia Smith (Coronation Street)
• Kara Tointon (Dawn Swann, EastEnders)
• Debra Stephenson (Frankie Baldwin, Coronation Street)
• Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow, Coronation Street)

• The Bill
• Bad Girls
• HolbyCity
• Casualty

• The Baldwin battles and Mike’s death (Coronation Street)
• Sam and Alice Dingle’s story (Emmerdale)
• The Mitchells return to defeat Chrissie (EastEnders)
•  Forbidden love for Justin and Becca (Hollyoaks)

• EastEnders
• Coronation Street
• Hollyoaks
• Emmerdale
• Home and Away
• Neighbours