British Soap Awards 2025 viewers were quick to air their frustrations minutes into the ITV broadcast on Thursday (June 5).
Fans got their glitter on as they eagerly tuned in to catch the crème de la crème of soap opera stars from Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders and Hollyoaks grace the stage at London's Hackney Empire, all set to revel in a spectacular year of drama-packed storylines.
The ceremony saw the return of the fabulous Jane McDonald, aged 62, taking the helm once again as she presented the much-anticipated awards night.
However, viewers were left twiddling their thumbs when an unforeseen technical glitch resulted in ITV1 flashing up an apology banner that read: "We're sorry for the disruption".
Disappointed soap enthusiasts flooded X (formerly Twitter) with messages expressing their bewilderment over the hiccup, reports the Express.
One irked viewer typed out their confusion on X (formerly Twitter), questioning: "The British Soap Awards aren't even live, why tf is there a disruption?".
Others voiced their bemusement with comments like: "What's happening?" and "Eh, soap awards? We've already waited 5 days for this! Get your act together."
Sympathy was sparse as another fan lamented the interruption, posting: "Not the soap awards not working," while someone else griped about the notorious reliability of the network, remarking: "ITV gone down when the soap awards should be on, typical. It isn't even live."
After an interminable delay that lasted just over six minutes, the eagerly awaited event resumed its pre-recorded proceedings much to the relief of the viewers.
Despite the high hopes, it was rather a sombre affair for the team behind Coronation Street, who were dealt a hefty blow after walking away with only the Outstanding Achievement Award, bestowed upon Roy Cropper's actor David Neilson.
Emmerdale faced a bit of a setback, only bagging the Best Young Performer award for Amelia Flanagan, who plays April Windsor, and the Tony Warren Award for long-serving cameraman Mike Plant.
EastEnders was the star of the night, scooping up a whopping eight awards in its 40th anniversary year.
The BBC soap was crowned Best Soap, with Lacey Turner being honoured as Best Leading Performer ahead of her impending exit from the show.
Steve McFadden nabbed the Best Dramatic Performance award for his role as Phil Mitchell, while Rudolph Walker and Angela Wynter were recognised for their Best On-Screen Partnership as Patrick and Yolande Trueman.
You can catch up on all the British Soap Awards action on ITVX
