Jane McDonald breaks silence on replacing Phillip Schofield at British Soap Awards
Jane McDonald has been announced as Phillip Schofield's replacement for this year's British Soap Awards which airs next week.
Jane McDonald discusses sleeping under the stars
Singer Jane McDonald has broken her silence about replacing Phillip Schofield at this year's British Soap Awards which are being held in Salford Quays on Saturday.
Ahead of hosting the star-studded ceremony, Jane exclaimed: “Oh my God...
"Everyone knows how much I love my soaps, this year I’ve been honoured to be mentioned in Corrie, EastEnders and Emmerdale, so this is just a dream come true.
"I can’t wait to see all our wonderful soap nominees and celebrate all their hard work with them - roll on the awards, I can’t wait!”
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The British Soap Awards will be broadcast on Tuesday at 8pm on ITV and ITVX and celebrate the nation's most-loved soaps.
The array of awards will be presented by a mix of well-known faces from across the television and showbiz world.
Phillip, 61, has hosted the awards for 17 years, but he stepped down from presenting duties after announcing he was parting ways with ITV last week.
He confirmed to Daily Mail: "I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family.
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Phillip added: "I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me."
Phillip worked on This Morning for more than two decades and he also fronted ITV shows such as The Cube.
His co-host Holly Willoughby is set to return to the This Morning sofa on Monday following some time off.
Jane is best known for her Channel 5 television series Cruising With Jane McDonald and she used to appear on Loose Women.
Soap stars nominated for the Best Dramatic Performance awards include Charlotte Jordan as Daisy Midgeley in Coronation Street, Chris Walker as Rob Hollins in Doctors, Danielle Harold as Lola Pearce-Brown in EastEnders, Jeff Hordley as Cain Dingle in Emmerdale, and Nikki Sanderson as Maxine Minniver in Hollyoaks.
The Scene of the Year nominations include the acid attack in Coronation Street and Paddy Kirk's suicide attempt in Emmerdale.
The British Soap Awards air on Tuesday at 8pm on ITV and ITVX.