Stars out in force for soap awards

This Morning presenters Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield will host the glitzy ceremony.

The awards, now in their ninth year, will be broadcast on ITV1 on Wednesday.

The contenders for best storyline are Tracy’s murder of love cheat Charlie in Coronation Street, Billy and Honey’s Down’s Syndrome baby in EastEnders, the ’Who Killed Tom King?’ mystery in Emmerdale, and Clare attempting to kill Max in Hollyoaks.

Other nominees include Lacey Turner (best dramatic performance as Stacey Slater in EastEnders) and Kym Marsh (best newcomer for her role as Corrie barmaid Michelle Connor).

Some of the categories, including best actor and best actress, are voted by the public and the shortlist of nominees will be announced tonight.

The rest are chosen by a panel of expert judges.

In the latter category, EastEnders lag behind with just four nominations, while Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks have nine apiece.

This is the first time Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks has been shortlisted in every category.

List of Nominations:

The following categories are voted by a judging panel

BEST COMEDY PERFORMANCE

:: Doctors – Martha Howe-Douglas (Donna Parmar)

:: EastEnders – Ricky Groves (Garry Hobbs)

:: Emmerdale – Charlie Hardwick (Val Lambert)

:: Hollyoaks – Gemma Merna (Carmel McQueen)

BEST NEWCOMER

:: Coronation Street – Kym Ryder (Michelle Connor)

:: Doctors – Martha Howe-Douglas (Donna Parmar)

:: Emmerdale – Joe Gilgun (Eli Dingle)

:: Hollyoaks – Gerard McCarthy (Kris Fisher)

SPECTACULAR SCENE OF THE YEAR

:: Emmerdale – Truck crash

:: Emmerdale – House collapse

:: Hollyoaks – Explosion/Fire at the Dog In The Pond

:: Hollyoaks – OB punches Clare and saves Max from the lake

ON-SCREEN PARTNERSHIP

:: Coronation Street – Sue Cleaver and Ryan Thomas (Eileen and Jason Grimshaw)

:: Coronation Street – Kate Ford and Bill Ward (Tracy Barlow and Charlie Stubbs)

:: Doctors – Stirling Gallacher and Sean Gleeson (George and Ronnie Woodson)

:: Hollyoaks – Matt Littler and Darren Jeffries (Max Cunningham and Sam O’Brien)

BEST SINGLE EPISODE

:: Coronation Street – Tracy’s confession to Deirdre

:: Doctors – ’Shreds’ and ’Aftermath’

:: Emmerdale – Cain and Sadie’s exit

BEST EXIT

:: Coronation Street – Bill Ward (Charlie Stubbs)

:: Emmerdale – Lorraine Chase (Steph Forsythe)

:: Emmerdale – Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle)

:: Hollyoaks – Sarah Jayne Dunn (Mandy Hutchinson)

BEST DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE

:: Coronation Street – Bill Ward (Charlie Stubbs)

:: Coronation Street – Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow)

:: EastEnders – Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater)

:: Hollyoaks – James Sutton (John Paul McQueen)

BEST DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE FROM A YOUNG ACTOR OR ACTRESS

:: Coronation Street – Sam Aston (Chesney Battersby-Brown)

:: EastEnders – Charlie Hawkins (Darren Miller)

:: Emmerdale – Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle)

:: Hollyoaks – Ellis Hollins (Tom Cunningham)

BEST STORYLINE

:: Coronation Street – Charlie’s cheating and Tracy’s revenge

:: EastEnders – Billy and Honey’s Down’s Syndrome baby

:: Emmerdale – Who killed Tom King?

:: Hollyoaks – Clare attempts to kill Max

The nominees for best soap, sexiest male, sexiest female, villain of the year, best actor and best actress will be announced tonight.