British Soap Awards fans will no doubt be expecting all the fictional drama, but there was also chaos behind the scenes so here’s what happened in the advert breaks and inbetween awards

British Soap Awards fans will no doubt be expecting all the fictional drama, but there was also chaos behind the scenes(Image: ITV)

The British Soap Awards are back after a year away, with the show airing on Thursday night.

It’s not live though, with the glitzy ceremony with all your favourite soap stars from Emmerdale, EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks already having happened, even sharing all the gossip with us at The Mirror. They’ve taken their seats with some stars making it on the stage, and all the awards handed out.

The winners were revealed on Saturday May 31 when the awards and red carpet took place, with BBC soap EastEnders coming out on top. With the awards now airing on TV, pre-recorded, between 8PM and 10PM, there’s plenty of action viewers who weren’t there in the crowd did not get to see.

While some touching moments saw stars in tears, emotional speeches and plenty of applause, there were moments behind the scenes that likely won’t be aired, from a late-running ceremony, loudness from the crowd and a number of retakes. There was even a warning from host Jane McDonald to the soap stars in attendance after one speech went on for quite a while. Here’s all the moments you probably won’t get to watch on screen…

The British Soap Awards are back after a year away, with the show airing on Thursday night(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)

Jane McDonald’s warning

The host was left stepping in when one winner took their moment to share their gratitude. Jaime Winstone was thrilled as she and her co-stars won the award for Best Episode for EastEnders.

The flashback episode featuring the Mitchells, with Jaime portraying a young Peggy Mitchell, was a hit with fans. It was the first award of the night, and Jaime took the lead in thanking people after the announcement came in.

Jaime’s speech went on for a good while and as the minutes went by, host Jane got a bit restless with the show having already been running behind schedule. As the speech approached what felt like 10 minutes but may not have been that much, Jane hurried over to wrap it up. With that she urged the other attendees: “Please don’t make your speeches that long! I’ve got party to go to.”

Scenes re-filmed

Another batch of chaos saw moments reshot for many reasons. Either due to it just not looking or sounding it right, or people not being in their seats, host Jane re-filmed some of her moments to-camera twice or three times.

Some of the people presenting an award also reshot their moments on stage, while the audience were told when an advert break was about to end, sending cheers across the crowd. None of the acceptances were re-filmed, while Denise Welch almost didn’t get a winner speech.

She was surprised on the night, while handing out an award with Martin Kemp, as she was given an award to honour her being in all four soaps in major roles. As the award came out, filming suddenly stopped with Denise left asking if she was allowed to make a speech as she wanted to say a few words. Eventually they filmed her speech and she was awarded by the crowd, before she was back to it with presenting the award.

It’s not live though, with the glitzy ceremony with all your favourite soap stars from Emmerdale, EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks already having attended(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)

Audience warning

Another thing that led to scenes being done again was the audience cheers. For some cast members and awards the screaming was off the scale, and it’s safe to say the soap fans were out in force.

It’s thought that when filming, the crew couldn’t hear some of the award presenters speaking due to the high volume of cheering and reactions from both fans and the soap stars attending. The Mirror were watching from the venue and we can confirm it was very enthusiastic, and rightly so.

As for the reshoots, some attendees claimed on X that they had been warned to be quieter when cheering. While there was some divided talk online, it was claimed some people had been told to cheer quieter as otherwise, viewers at home would not be able to hear people talking.

40-minute delay sparks overrun

Luckily for TV viewers the awards were pre-recorded because if live, they would have endured the 40-minute delay like those of us who were there. Given all the action on the red carpet, by the time everyone took their seats it was almost 8:15PM.

Attendees were supposed to be sat down by 7:30PM, as this was when the ceremony was due to kick off. Instead, it was 10 past or later when filming finally began, causing a delay with the entire ceremony.

Then with the added chaos, including the long speeches, things needing to be reshot and people not being in their seats, with host Jane reminding people to get back to their chairs, it all took longer than planned. While they managed to play catch-up, the awards did not wrap up until 11PM, 30 minutes after than planned.

Luckily for fans the pre-recorded episode will air across two hours. As for the fans who were there on the day, they were out in force and waited the entire time to see their favourite soap stars once the event was over.

What happens in the advert breaks?

The ceremony and those attending did get breaks inbetween filming, as if it was on TV right then. There were gaps to replicate the time given to adverts throughout the ceremony.

In this time, those seated would get up and move around and speak to people there. There were selfies, shouting out to soap stars from the crowd and some cast would pop out, maybe for air or look breaks or just a breather.