Coronation Street stars Lucy Fallon and Connor McIntyre were among the early winners at the British Soap Awards as they were recognised for their respective gripping performances.
Evil Pat Phelan (McIntyre) saw his murderous spree in Weatherfield come to a close on Friday night as he was killed off while Bethany Platt (Fallon) has endured a harrowing grooming storyline over the past 12 months.
McIntyre beat off competition from EastEnders star Jake Wood to take villain of the year while Fallon received the best female dramatic performance prize.
Collecting her award, Fallon acknowledged the awareness her storyline had created while McIntyre joked the audience need not worry, Phelan was dead now.
Fallon’s character was groomed by the evil Nathan Curtis who forced her and a number of other girls to have sex with his friends during a series of sordid episodes.
He was arrested after Bethany reported his actions, but made her life even more difficult by using whatever means possible to prevent her from giving evidence in court.
Hollyoaks also bagged two prizes at the ceremony, being held at the Hackney Empire in east London on Saturday night, while EastEnders star Lorraine Stanley, who plays Karen Taylor, won the best newcomer award.
Hollyoaks won the best single episode award for their episode addressing self harm, which was titled Three Mothers, Three Daughters, while the soap’s Malique Thompson-Dwyer and Theo Graham picked up the best on-screen partnership prize.
Emmerdale actress Isobel Steele, who plays Liv Flaherty, won the best young actor award.
Earlier newly engaged Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan led the glamorous arrivals alongside fiancee Scott Sinclair.
The actress, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child, wore a fitted, floor-length white dress as she joined other celebrities on the red carpet at the event being held in east London.
Doctors actress Elisabeth Dermot Walsh sported a Time’s Up badge as she walked the red carpet while Harvey Weinstein-accuser Lysette Anthony had a #MeToo slogan emblazoned on her wrist.
Dermot Walsh told the Press Association it was “very important” for her to support the movement and called Doctors a “truly feminist show”.
She said: “It’s a truly feminist show, the protagonists are very often females, the stories are driven by females, there are some very funny boys on the show too, but we are very lucky, we get to be centre of the story very often, which is not how it is across the world of drama.”
In a celebration of the awards’ 20th anniversary, a special greatest soap moment of all time has been introduced, with a number of acclaimed scenes included.
EastEnders’ 2001 You Ain’t My Mother scene, in which Kat Slater revealed she was Zoe’s real mother, is nominated, as well as hit historical moments from Corrie, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Doctors.
Richard Hillman driving his family into a canal in 2003 in Corrie and the 2016 Hotten bypass crash from Emmerdale are both up for the prize.