Inside Soap Awards 2026 Odds: Corrie Lead The Way As Dementia Plots Dominate
With the British Soap Awards appearing to be axed this year, it's down to the Inside Soap Awards 2026 to hand out numerous accolades to the finest performers in our serial dramas.
Inside Soap has unveiled the longlist nominations ahead of this year's ceremony in September, and Coronation Street are the early favourites on betting sites to win the coveted Best Soap prize.
The Inside Soap Awards are the only gongs of their kind to be voted for entirely by fans, and Corrie has won Best Soap for the last two years.
The ITV show is 10/11 favourite to make it a hat-trick, and victory later this year would make it four wins in the last six years.
EastEnders is expected to be Coronation Street's biggest competition at Evens, followed by Emmerdale at 6/4.
Prior to Corrie's double victory in 2024 and 2025, their BBC rivals EastEnders had won three of the past four Best Soap gongs.
Sue To Scoop Best Actress?
Coronation Street could also taste victory in the Best Actress category.
Vicky Myers will be hoping to win consecutive Best Actress prizes, after she won last year for her portrayal of Cobbles' favourite Lisa Connor-Swain.
Vicky secured Corrie's first win in the category since 2021, and she is 7/4 second favourite on betting apps to repeat the feat.
However, she may be watching her cobbles co-star Sue Devaney walk onto the stage to collect the prize instead.
Inside Soap Awards 2026: Best British Soap Odds
Soap | Odds | Probability |
Coronation Street | 10/11 | 52.4% |
EastEnders | Evens | 50% |
Emmerdale | 6/4 | 40% |
Hollyoaks | 2/1 | 33.3% |
Home and Away | 3/1 | 25% |
Sue has been superb as Debbie Webster and is currently playing out a long-running young-onset dementia storyline.
The star is still expected to leave Weatherfield at some point, but Sue previously confirmed show bosses had opted to prolong her time on the soap until 2027.
She is 13/8 favourite to win Best Actress, but she also faces stiff competition from Alex Fletcher, who left Hollyoaks earlier this year after 16 years of playing Diane Hutchinson.
A Best Actress win would be the perfect send-off for Alex, who is 5/2 to triumph on the night.
Another worthy winner would be EastEnders star Karen Henthorn (2/1), who reprised her role as Julie Bates in 2025, following a 27-year absence from the BBC One soap.
Her comeback centred on a tragic storyline which eventually saw her on-screen husband Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) lose his battle with dementia.
Inside Soap Awards 2026: Best Actress Odds
Best Actress | Odds | Probability |
Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster, Coronation Street) | 13/8 | 38.1% |
Vicky Myers (Lisa Connor-Swain, Coronation Street) | 7/4 | 36.4% |
Karen Henthorn (Julie Bates, EastEnders) | 2/1 | 33.3% |
Alex Fletcher (Diane Hutchinson, Hollyoaks) | 5/2 | 28.6% |
Diane Parish (Denise Fox, EastEnders) | 3/1 | 25% |
Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle, Emmerdale) | 10/3 | 23.1% |
Tina O’Brien (Sarah Platt, Coronation Street) | 7/2 | 22.2% |
Natalie J Robb (Moira Barton, Emmerdale) | 4/1 | 20% |
Anna Passey (Sienna Blake, Hollyoaks) | 9/2 | 18.2% |
Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell, EastEnders) | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Olivia Bromley (Dawn Fletcher, Emmerdale) | 11/2 | 15.4% |
Ada Nicodemou (Leah Patterson, Home and Away) | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Sophea Pennington (Lacey Miller, Home and Away) | 7/1 | 12.5% |
Nadine Mulkerrin (Cleo McQueen, Hollyoaks) | 8/1 | 11.1% |
Emily Weir (Mackenzie Booth, Home and Away) | 10/1 | 9.1% |
Emotional EastEnders
If Karen scooped the Best Actress award, it would be an emotional night for EastEnders fans, but there would be even more tears if Paul landed the Best Actor accolade.
Following his heart-wrenching plot, Paul is 5/4 favourite to win Best Actor at this year's Inside Soap Awards.
Others in contention include his former co-star Aaron Thiara (13/8), who plays EastEnders' Ravi Gulati, who was recently diagnosed with Complex PTSD (CPTSD).
While Paul is the favourite to triumph in the category, there are plenty of worthy contenders.
Welsh actor Gareth Pierce (11/8) has also had to act out a hard-hitting plot for his Coronation Street character Todd Grimshaw.
Todd was the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of his horrid husband, Theo Silverton.
There's also been turmoil in Emmerdale, where Jeff Hordley's character, Cain Dingle, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February.
Jeff is a 6/4 chance to win Best Actor, which would be Emmerdale's first win in the category since 2022.
Inside Soap Awards 2026: Best Actor Odds
Best Actor | Odds | Probability |
Paul Bradley (Nigel Bates, EastEnders) | 5/4 | 44.4% |
Gareth Pierce (Todd Grimshaw, Coronation Street) | 11/8 | 42.1% |
Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle, Emmerdale) | 6/4 | 40% |
Aaron Thiara (Ravi Gulati, EastEnders) | 13/8 | 38.1% |
Rob Mallard (Daniel Osborne, Coronation Street) | 15/8 | 34.8% |
Nick Pickard (Tony Hutchinson, Hollyoaks) | 2/1 | 33.3% |
Ryan Hawley (Robert Sugden, Emmerdale) | 5/2 | 28.6% |
Colin Salmon (George Knight, EastEnders) | 3/1 | 25% |
Joshua Richards (Bear Wolf, Emmerdale) | 7/2 | 22.2% |
Danny Mac (Dodger Savage, Hollyoaks) | 4/1 | 20% |
Louis Emerick (Donny Clark, Hollyoaks) | 4/1 | 20% |
Ethan Browne (Tane Parata, Home and Away) | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Vinta Morgan (Ronnie Bailey, Coronation Street) | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Tristan Gorey (Levi Fowler, Home and Away) | 8/1 | 11.1% |
James Stewart (Justin Morgan, Home and Away) | 10/1 | 9.1% |
Corriedale Odds-On
If Corrie or Emmerdale are pipped to the Best Soap prize, then ITV should at least have one trophy in their grasp.
The Best Showstopper accolade is awarded to a soap event that had the audience on the edge of their seats, and Corriedale certainly did that.
Soap fans' year got off to a great start as Corrie and Emmerdale combined for the sister shows' first-ever full crossover on January 5.
Entitled Corriedale, the hour-long episode's main event was a fiery, multiple-vehicle crash on the M62 motorway - which directly connects Manchester, where Corrie is set, and Emmerdale's home of Leeds - that involved characters from both soaps.
Inside Soap Awards 2026: Best Showstopper Odds
Showstopper | Odds | Probability |
Corriedale (Coronation Street & Emmerdale) | 1/3 | 75% |
Nigel’s 90’s Special (EastEnders) | 6/4 | 40% |
Return to Brookside Close (Hollyoaks) | 7/4 | 36.4% |
Kat & Zoe's Reunion (EastEnders) | 2/1 | 33.3% |
The Train Crash (Home and Away) | 3/1 | 25% |
Murder mystery flash forward: who dies? (Coronation Street) | 4/1 | 20% |
Ray’s killer revealed (Emmerdale) | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Clare & Sienna’s final showdown (Hollyoaks) | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Tane flees to Western Australia (Home and Away) | 8/1 | 11.1% |
The soap world was gripped by the episode as two major characters perished, Coronation Street's Billy Mayhew and Emmerdale's John Sugden.
While their departures came as a shock to some, it would be even more of a surprise if another event won Best Showstopper at this year's Inside Soap Awards.
Corriedale are 1/3 favourites to land the gong.
If anything is to topple the epic crossover episode, EastEnders or Hollyoaks fans will need to vote in their droves.
EastEnders fans could back Nigel's 90s Special, which is 6/4, and Hollyoaks supporters might vote for the show's Return to Brookside Close special.
The nod to now-defunct soap Brookside is 7/4 to win Best Showstopper.
* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.
Who are you voting for at this year's Inside Soap Awards? Let us know in the comments below!
