The sexiest male and female gongs at the British Soap Awards are set to be banished, as the awards ceremony aims to make itself more credible, reports The Sun. It is often seen as a low point of the evening when the awards for sexiest male and female are handed out. Past winners include Michelle Keegan, Scott Maslen, Jessie Wallace and Rob James-Collier.
Voting opened on Monday meaning soap fans can vote for their favourite soap, best actor and best actress. All the other awards will be voted for by a panel of soap experts. Last year, Channel 4 soap 'Hollyoaks' took home the biggest award of the night, Best Soap.
'EastEnders' will be hoping to snatch the gong this year for Best Soap after a dramatic year. Last year, they went home with just one major award when Maddy Hill, who plays Nancy Carter, won Best Newcomer.
'EastEnders' celebrated its 30th birthday in February with a special live week and the long awaited revelation of who killed Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater). Viewers were stunned to learn 11-year-old Bobby Beale (Eliot Carrington) had bashed his half sister over the head with a jewelry box. The moment was watched by nearly 12 million viewers.
At the 2014 awards, Coronation Street's David Neilson, who plays Roy Cropper, picked up Best Actor and Julie Hesmondhalgh walked away with the Best Actress award for her portrayal of Hayley Cropper.
The Outstanding Achievement Award went to Helen Worth for her role as Gail McIntyre. The ITV soap went home with eight awards on the night.
This year will be the first time the public can't vote for villain of the year. Last year, soap fans voted for Hollyoaks' character Sienna Blake (Anna Passey). 'Hollyoaks' is the soap most likely to be affected by the loss of the 'sexiest' award.
Danny Mac, who played Marc 'Dodger' Savage picked up Sexiest Male in 2014.
Phillip Schofield will once again host the British Soap Awards, which will be broadcast in May on ITV. Voting for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Soap will close at 12pm on Tuesday 21st April.
