Kym Marsh dedicated her British Soap Awards win to her late son Archie.
The 40-year-old star – who plays Michelle Connor in ‘Coronation Street’ – took home the Best Female Dramatic Performance at the annual ceremony on Saturday evening (03.06.17) for her emotional portrayal of a late-term miscarriage storyline after Michelle and her partner Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) lost their baby son Ruairi.
She said: "Thank you so much, this means so much to me. I just want to say I’ve been on Corrie for 11 years and it’s been my biggest and best year yet and that’s down to the amazing storylines I’ve been given.
"It took us back to places we never wanted to have to go to again but we had to do it, as we had to tell that story. As we are sitting here enjoying ourselves someone is losing their baby. I’m so proud of the show for telling the story in its entirety, reaching out to people and breaking the silence and the taboo.
"My wonderful children, David, Emily and Polly… you’re the reason I smile everyday. I’d like to dedicate this to my son Archie."
Elsewhere, ‘Coronation Street’s Rob Mallard, who plays Daniel Osbourne, won the Best Newcomer award whilst Best Young Performance went to the ITV soap’s Elle Mulvaney (Amy Barlow) and Best Comedy Performance for Dolly-Rose Campbell (Gemma Winter).
However, it was ‘Emmerdale’ who took home the most prizes of the night including Best Soap and Best Actor and Best Male Dramatic Performance for John Middleton (Ashley Thomas).
For the storyline surrounding Ashley’s dementia, the soap also won Best Single Episode and Best Storyline.
‘Hollyoaks’s Nick Pickard (Tony Hutchinson) was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award whilst ‘Doctors’ Lucy-Jo Hudson (Rhiannon Davis) won Best Villain.
Surprisingly, ‘EastEnders’ failed to win any awards at the ceremony, which took place in The Lowry in Salford, Greater Manchester.
Full list of winners at the 2017 British Soap Awards:
Best Soap – ‘Emmerdale’
Best Actor – John Middleton, ‘Emmerdale’
Best Actress – Charlotte Bellamy, ‘Emmerdale’
Best Female Dramatic Performance – Kym Marsh, ‘Coronation Street’
Best Male Dramatic Performance – John Middleton, ‘Emmerdale’
Best Single Episode – Ashley’s Point of View, ‘Emmerdale’
Outstanding Achievement – Nick Pickard, ‘Hollyoaks’
Best Storyline – Ashley’s Dementia, ‘Emmerdale’
Best Newcomer – Rob Mallard, ‘Coronation Street’
Best Villain – Lucy-Jo Hudson, ‘Doctors’
Scene of the Year – ‘Hollyoaks’: Jade says goodbye to Alfie
Best Young Performance – Elle Mulvaney, ‘Coronation Street’
Best On-Screen Performance – Richard Linnell and Kassius Nelson, ‘Hollyoaks’
Best Comedy Performance – Dolly-Rose Campbell, ‘Coronation Street’