Adam Woodyatt was on hand to collect his EastEnders co-star Steve McFadden’s much-deserved win at the British Soap Awards after the Phil Mitchell actor was missing

Soap Awards winner Steve McFadden, who plays EastEnders legend Phil Mitchell, missed the ceremony (Image: PA)

Soap Awards winner Steve McFadden, who plays EastEnders legend Phil Mitchell, missed the ceremony on Saturday night when it took place.

As ITV1 aired the big awards on Thursday 5 June, it was his co-star Adam Woodyatt, who plays Ian Beale, who accepted the award on his behalf. Actor Steve doesn’t always attend the big events, but this time fans were expecting to see him as he secured the trophy for Best Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards 2025.

So when actor Adam went up on stage on his behalf, it emerged Steve was not there to celebrate his deserved win. That said, Adam quickly explained the icon’s absence, with him taking some time away after such a heavy storyline.

Emotional scenes earlier this year, starting late last year, saw his character Phil struggling with his mental health. Events reached breaking point when Phil suffered from psychosis and suicidal thoughts, with him sadly making an attempt to end his life.

The portrayal earned actor Steve huge praise after his more than three decades on the show, from cast and viewers. Now he’s gone all the way and got the award, but sadly despite “wanting to be there” he couldn’t be.

Adam Woodyatt was on hand to collect his EastEnders co-star Steve McFadden’s much-deserved win(Image: WireImage)

Adam explained to the audience that Steve was on holiday after months of filming the tough storyline. In his absence, Adam collected the award and gave an epic speech that moved fans.

He said, after appearing to say to the award presenters: “Holiday, holiday,” that Steve had been “nervous” about getting the storyline right. He also said, and his cast agreed, that it had been a long time coming for Steve to win the award.

Adam shared on the stage: “Obviously I am not Steve McFadden. Steve is on a very well deserved holiday. He would have loved to have been here.”

Turning to his co-stars in their seats, Adam went on: “For us, isn’t it about time he won this? Steve for 35 years has been the most consistent brilliant colleague.

“He has been off the scale. I was in the green room with him before he started this storyline, and Steve was nervous. You would think after all the things that Steve has done over all this time, and he was nervous.

Steve was not there to celebrate his deserved win(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

“I asked him come on mate, what is this about? And he said, ‘I just want to get it right’. And I went, you’ve got it right mate!” With that he raided the trophy in the air, gesturing that it as proof he’d done good and had nothing to worry about.

With that the crowd erupted into applause and Adam left the stage. Viewers were thrilled for the actor, taking to X to share their thoughts on his big win. One fan posted: “THE BEST ACTOR IN THE SOAP INDUSTRY FULL STOP!!!! AN ABSOLUTE LEGEND!”

Another fan said: “SO SO happy for Steve McFadden. What a legend.” A third fan wrote: “About time, congratulations to Steve McFadden.”

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .