Woke soap awards bosses axe male and female categories
WOKE soap awards bosses have axed male and female categories, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Instead of Best Actor and Actress, stars from dramas including EastEnders and Coronation Street will be battling it out for the newly created Best Leading Performer.
The move follows The Brits which scrapped gender classifications this year, with Adele beating Ed Sheeran to Artist of the Year.
The British Soap Awards, hosted by Phillip Schofield, returns this June after a two-year hiatus.
ITV announced news of the gender neutral “refresh” last week.
But a soap source said: “There are genuine fears that it’s going to be even harder for soap actresses to get recognised.
“There are a number of actresses who feel they are going to miss out because of the woke changes.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it all works out and who makes it on to the short-list.”
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Past winners of the Best Actress award include Katherine Kelly, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Suranne Jones, Lacey Turner, Alison King, Kellie Bright, Lucy Pargeter and Jessie Wallace.
Best Actor gongs have gone to Ross Kemp, Shane Richie, Antony Cotton and Alan Halsall.
In 2015 public votes for Sexiest Male and Female were axed.