Inside Soap Awards 2015: EastEnders buckles to top winners Emmerdale and Coronation Street

BBC One EastEnders — BBC1's EastEnders won three awards at the Inside Soap Awards 2015 but missed out in the main categories BBC

It was a night of surprising events at the Inside Soap Awards 2015 with ITV drama Emmerdale emerging as the big winner. The series won a total of eight awards during the ceremony, leaving usual front-runner EastEnders out in the cold.

Hosted at London's DSTRKT nightclub on 5 October, the awards ceremony saw Emmerdale scooping the best soap award, while Michael Parr, who plays Ross Barton on the show, walked away being crowned best actor and best bad boy. Adding to his two personal accolades, the 29-year-old actor also won the most flattering gong after being crowned sexiest male.

ITV certainly enjoyed a triumphant night with its staple soap Coronation Street winning three awards, including best actress for Alison King, who plays Carla Connor, and best bad girl for Kate Ford who plays Tracy Barlow. Ford, 38, was not able to attend the awards but said in a pre-recorded message: "I am so pleased to have won this award – I'm really chuffed. It means so much to me with it being a public vote. All the other nominees are fantastic, and they all play great characters, so I'm very flattered. I'm going to give the award to my mum – she is my inspiration."

Although it missed out in the main categories, long-running BBC1 soap EastEnders did walk away with three awards, including funniest female for Tameka Empson, who plays Kim Fox-Hubbard, and best shock twist for the Bobby killed Lucy storyline. The ongoing saga came to a dramatic climax in the live episode in February, which was watched by more than 10m viewers.

Speaking before the awards ceremony, Steven Murphy, editor of Inside Soap magazine, said: "Inside Soap readers have had the toughest job in the world this year, as all the soaps have been on cracking form. We're proud tonight to announce who and what have been named the nation's favourites, on a fantastic evening where we make sure everyone leaves feeling like a winner!"