Corrie sweeps up at soap awards

ITV soap Coronation Street racked up seven awards in the British Soap Awards, leaving rival EastEnders trailing with just one.

The result was a reverse of last year's awards where the BBC show won seven, pushing Corrie into second place.

But the 2007 results are even worse for EastEnders as its haul of just one award meant it was beaten to the second spot by Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks, which took home gongs in three categories, while both Emmerdale and fellow BBC show Doctors also finished higher with two awards each.

The all-important Best Soap prize went to Corrie, along with Best Newcomer for Kym Marsh, formerly of pop band Hear'Say, for her role as Michelle Connor on the Weatherfield show.

Commenting on her success, Kym told the People: "I didn't expect this. It's a real coup for me. I wanted people to see that I could do this and to prove that I could go from Top of the Pops to top of the soaps."

In addition, best actress went to Kate Ford, who plays Tracy Barlow on the Street, while Antony Cotton was declared best actor for his portrayal of Sean Tully.

A spokeswoman for the long-running ITV show said the cast were "thrilled to bits" by the awards haul.

"The quality of the writing and the acting is second to none, and it's just been our year," she said.

EastEnders only success came through Lacey Turner who won Best Dramatic Performance for her role as Stacey Slater.

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