Denise Welch surprised with special soap award

Actress Denise Welch has been honoured with a special prize at the British Soap Awards, in recognition of her appearances in Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and EastEnders.

Welch was due to present the award for best newcomer at the ceremony, but was taken by surprise when it was revealed she was in fact about to receive a special award herself.

Welch said "thank you so much" as she received a trophy which referenced all four shows, before joking that she didn't mind which show won best soap at the event, because "I've been in all of them".

The ceremony took place last weekend but was broadcast on ITV on Thursday, with some viewers affectionately declaring Welch the "Queen of England".

Welch was due to present best newcomer at the event, and walked on stage alongside former EastEnders star Martin Kemp, as the category was introduced.

However, once at the podium, Kemp said: "Before we go any further, there is something very special that I need to mention.

"Now, this year, Denise appeared in Emmerdale as a juror in Tom King's court case.

"This means she's officially the only actor to have had a major part in Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, EastEnders and Emmerdale. So, Denise tonight we want to give you a special award."

Kemp's wife Shirlie then joined the pair on stage to hand over the CHEE award to Denise - so named because each letter represented a soap she had been part of.

The trophy included memorable items from each show, including a cobblestone from Coronation Street, a wellington boot from Emmerdale, a label from The Dog in the Pond pub in Hollyoaks, and one of EastEnders character Pat Butcher's earrings.

Denise accepted the award, saying, "Thank you so much!" before adding: "Hey, Mum and Dad, I've won a CHEE."

She added jokingly: "I was going to say, when the press say, 'Who do you want to win best soap?' I say, 'Well, I don't mind because I've been in all of them.'"

Viewers shared their reaction and well wishes on social media as the moment was broadcast, with one saying they were "crying" and another commenting it was "nice to see her get an award", while one viewer declared Welsh "the Queen of England".

EastEnders was the big winner of the night, taking home eight prizes including best British soap.

The ceremony was held at the Hackney Empire and hosted by singer and Loose Women star Jane McDonald.

Best single episode

Coronation Street: Mason's Death

WINNER: EastEnders: Phil's Psychosis: The Mitchells In 1985

Emmerdale: April's Life On The Streets

Hollyoaks: Hollyoaks Time Jump

Scene of the year

Coronation Street: Mason's death

WINNER: EastEnders: Angie Watts' shock return

Emmerdale: Amy's Deathly plunge reveals a grisly secret

Hollyoaks: Mercedes confronts her mortality

Best newcomer

Coronation Street: Jacob Roberts (Kit Green)

EastEnders: Laura Doddington (Nicola Mitchell)

Emmerdale: Shebz Miah (Kammy Hadiq)

WINNER: Hollyoaks: Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne)

Villain of the year

Coronation Street: Calum Lill (Joel Deering)

WINNER: EastEnders: Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar)

Emmerdale: Ned Porteous (Joe Tate)

Hollyoaks: Tyler Conti (Abe Fielding)

Best family

Coronation Street: The Platts

EastEnders: The Slaters

Emmerdale: The Dingles

WINNER: Hollyoaks: The Osbornes

Best dramatic performance

Coronation Street: Peter Ash (Paul Foreman)

WINNER: EastEnders: Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell)

Emmerdale: Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle)

Hollyoaks: Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne)

Best on-screen partnership

Coronation Street: Alison King & Vicky Myers (Carla Connor & Lisa Swain)

WINNER: EastEnders: Rudolph Walker & Angela Wynter (Patrick & Yolande Trueman)

Emmerdale: William Ash & Beth Cordingly (Caleb Miligan & Ruby Fox-Miligan)

Hollyoaks: Nathaniel Dass & Oscar Curtis (Dillon Ray & Lucas Hay)

Best comedy performance

Coronation Street: Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt)

WINNER: EastEnders: Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson)

Emmerdale: Nicola Wheeler (Nicola King)

Hollyoaks: Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra McQueen)

Best storyline

Coronation Street: Paul's Battle With MND

EastEnders: Phil Mitchell: Hypermasculinity In Crisis

Emmerdale: Belle & Tom - Domestic Abuse

WINNER: Hollyoaks: Sibling Sexual Abuse

Best young performer

Coronation Street: Will Flanagan (Joseph Winter-Brown)

EastEnders: Sonny Kendall (Tommy Moon)

WINNER: Emmerdale: Amelia Flanagan (April Windsor)

Hollyoaks: Noah Holdsworth (Oscar Osborne)

Best leading performer

Emmerdale: Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle)

Emmerdale: Beth Cordingly (Ruby Fox-Miligan)

WINNER: EastEnders: Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater)

EastEnders: Kellie Bright (Linda Carter)

Best British soap

Coronation Street

WINNER: EastEnders

Emmerdale

Hollyoaks

Outstanding achievement

WINNER: Coronation Street - David Neilson

The Tony Warren Award

WINNER - Emmerdale - Mike Plant