It's the moment that soap fans have been waiting for – longlist voting for the British Soap Awards 2017 has officially opened.

A host of stars from Coronation Street, Doctors, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks have made the longlist for the Best Actor and Best Actress prizes. And, as always, fans will have the chance to vote for the coveted Best British Soap prize.


The full longlist follows below:

Best Actor

William Roache (Ken Barlow, Coronation Street)

Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street)

Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald, Coronation Street)

Chris Walker (Rob Hollins, Doctors)

Owen Brenman (Dr Heston Carter, Doctors)

Ashley Rice (Dr Sid Vere, Doctors)

Davood Ghadami (Kush Kazemi, EastEnders)

Scott Maslen (Jack Branning, EastEnders)

Danny Dyer (Mick Carter, EastEnders)

John Middleton (Ashley Thomas, Emmerdale)

Matthew Wolfenden (David Metcalfe, Emmerdale)

Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle, Emmerdale)

Gregory Finnegan (James Nightingale, Hollyoaks)

Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox, Hollyoaks)

Ben Ryan Davies (Nick Savage, Hollyoaks)


Best Actress

Jane Danson (Leanne Battersby, Coronation Street)

Kym Marsh (Michelle Connor, Coronation Street)

Lucy Fallon (Bethany Platt, Coronation Street)

Lorna Laidlaw (Mrs Tembe, Doctors)

Bharti Patel (Ruhma Hanif, Doctors)

Laura Rollins ( Ayesha Lee, Doctors)

June Brown (Dot Branning, EastEnders)

Lacey Turner (Stacey Fowler, EastEnders)

Diane Parish (Denise Fox, EastEnders)

Rachel Adedeji (Lisa Loveday, Hollyoaks)

Anna Passey (Siena Blake, Hollyoaks)

Jessica Fox (Nancy Osborne, Hollyoaks)

Zoe Henry (Rhona Goskirk, Emmerdale)

Natalie J Robb (Moira Dingle, Emmerdale)

Charlotte Bellamy (Laurel Thomas, Emmerdale)


Best British Soap

Coronation Street

Doctors

EastEnders

Emmerdale

Hollyoaks


The awards are set to be bigger than ever this year as the ceremony will be broadcast live for the first time ever.

Previous years have seen the ceremony pre-recorded, leading to results coming out before it's even been aired on ITV, often up to three or four days in advance.

But that won't be the case this year as viewers at home will be seeing all the action on screen as it happens, meaning it is shaping up to be the most exciting year yet.

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British Soap Awards ✔ @SoapAwards
VOTING NOW OPEN in the British Soap Awards 2017 Long List. Happy Voting! http://britishsoapawards.tv #SoapAwards2017
11:08 AM - 18 Apr 2017
The British Soap Awards 2017
The British Soap Awards celebrates another year of tears, trials, tribulations and tantrums from Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Doctors & Hollyoaks.
britishsoapawards.tv
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Votes can be cast now via the official British Soap Awards website. Details of the other categories, which are judged by the panel, will be revealed at a later date.

The ceremony will take place at The Lowry in Manchester on Saturday June 3, 2017.


Digital Spy