Inside Soap Awards most outrageous moments – boozing, upset and rude gestures

It’s usually the party night of the year, but The Inside Soap Awards is going to feel very different this time around.

Instead of the usual glamorous London event, the soap stars will be forced to don a sharp suit or glitzy dress to walk down their living room carpet.

Due to lockdown measures there is a virtual ceremony this year with a socially-distanced red carpet – but viewers will be able to watch from the safety of home.

The casts of Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and EastEnders are vying for the big gongs this year, along with medical dramas Doctors, Holby City and Casualty.

Sadly soapland’s biggest stars won’t be having an almighty knees-up together this year, which may be a good thing if previous years are anything to go by.

After an evening of refined clapping, things get very messy as the boozed-up celebs hit the town for a wild night of celebrations.

They then rock up appearing very bleary-eyed as the hop into the back of a taxi in the early hours of the morning.

Former Corrie favourite Michelle Keegan, who played Tina McIntyre for six years until 2014, was one of the original party goers back in her Corrie hey day.

The Manchester-born actress looked to be in desperate need of a lie down after celebrating her third consecutive Sexiest Female win in 2011.

Poor Michelle wore a pained expression and make-up smeared across her face as she tried to rip her VIP wristband off in the back of a car.

The Corrie cast have a bit of a reputation at these events – with former cast mate Tina O’Brien (Sarah Platt) making the most of the party in 2017.

Tina was seen waling out with her bag full of goodies, while soap daughter Lucy Fallon (Bethanny Platt) cut a stylish but dishevelled picture as she posed in her red tux and trainers with bags of belongings strewn at her feet.

Hollyoaks’ Jennifer Metcalfe needed a helping hand from a onlooker as she nearly took a tumble in her towering heels.

The Mercedes McQueen actor appeared unsteady on her feet as the stumbled out of the glitzy bash with a huge grin on her face.

And her fellow Hollyoaks’ star Duncan James also had a riot, getting close to a mystery lady on the back seat of his taxi.

While Emmerdale’s Danny Miller had a very cheeky message for his fans, flipping the bird to the camera after clambering into a waiting cab.

The star who plays Aaron Dingle in Emmerdale was clearly in a celebratory mood after bagging the Best Actor gong as he made the rude gesture.

The 2018 Inside Soap Awards were one of wildest on record, with a host of famous soap faces looking like they enjoyed one hell of an evening.

Emmerdale’s Emma Atkins, who plays Charity Dingle, actually looked quite upset the night was over as she left the celebrations.

It was reported she missed the seat as she clambered into a cab and nearly fell out.

Holding onto her phone and a goody bag, she appeared to be wailing as a pal reached out to grab her arm from across the taxi.

It was a bit of a family affair as her on-screen daughter, Charley Webb, could barely keep her eyes open while snapped in the back of a cab with Corrie-turned-EastEnders boss Kate Oates.

EastEnders star Lorraine Stanley (Karen Taylor) looked like she’d had a thoroughly lovely time as she left the party and stopped to root around for some change.

While co-star Kellie Bright (Linda Carter) excelled herself, appearing to take a nap in an upright position while still clinging to the door.

Hollyoaks’ Sarah Jayne Dunn looked to be eyeing up her haul of freebies as she made her way home, while EastEnders star Dean Gaffney gave cameras a cool guy point as he left the bash.

Coronation Street’s on-screen lovers Jack P Shepherd and Julia Goulding were seen walking together before heading off in a taxi with co-star Victoria Ekanoye.

Meanwhile, Lauren Goodger might not have been in a soap but she was still in the mood to celebrate in 2013.

The former The Only Way Is Essex star put in a boozy appearance when she was spotted tumbling out of the awards in a precariously positioned bandage dress.

Last year’s ceremony was slightly more subdued, but there were some hilarious moments from inside the ceremony itself.

Corrie favourite Maureen Lipman, who plays feisty Evelyn Plummer, joked she had spent “52 years waiting to be a newcomer” during her acceptance speech for the Best Newcomer Award.

Maureen had the audience in stitches when she added: “It’s like giving my first padded bra to Dolly Parton.”

The gracious winner then thanked her Corrie colleagues and admitted she was very pleased to have won the award.

At the end of her speech, she said: “And tonight’s ceremony has been, of all the ones I’ve been to in the last 52 years, tonight has been the most recent so thank you.”

This year’s ceremony will be very different – with any celebs getting on the booze doing it from the privacy of their own homes.

Among those up for one of the 13 awards this year are Coronation Street’s Shelley King and Ian Barthlomew, who have driven the ITV soap’s nail-biting Yasmeen and Geoff abuse storyline.

As well as competing in the Best Actor and Actress categories, they are going head to head with other soaps for the Best Show-Stopper gong.

Kellie Bright’s brilliant New Year’s Eve episode, exploring the grim, sinister and dangerous world of alcoholism, is also up for the award.

Fresh new talent in soaps is also represented in the Best Newcomer category, with three actors from Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks all vying for the gong.

We already know the verdict of one award – as the winner was told shortly before they went into the I’m A Celebrity castle.

Jessica Plummer has won the Best Actress gong for her performance as tragic Chantelle Atkins, who was murdered by husband Gray in a horrifying domestic abuse plot.

Obviously Jessica won’t feature during the virtual ceremony as she is currently enjoying a stay in Gwrych Castle, Wales, with a load of bugs, rats and two cheeky Geordies.

“This is probably one of the biggest achievements of my career,” Jessica told The Sun.

“It was an honour to even be nominated, I’m completely blown away.

“This year has been a complete whirlwind. Winning this award is the cherry on the cake for my EastEnders journey.”

Jessica beat off stiff competition from Coronation Street’s Shelley King, who plays Yasmeen Nazir, Hollyoaks’ Jennifer Metcalfe, who plays Mercedes McQueen, and Emmerdale’s Natalie J Robb, who plays Moira Dingle.

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