Corrie wins Broadcast's top soap prize

Coronation Street has been named as the UK's top soap at the annual Broadcast Awards.

The programme's triumph in the 'Best Soap or Continuing Drama' category was announced last night at a gala dinner held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Weatherfield regulars David Neilson (Roy Cropper), Katherine Kelly (Becky McDonald), Shobna Gulati (Sunita Alahan) and Debbie Rush (Anna Windass) were in attendance for the ceremony, which uses a panel of judges to reward excellence in television each year.

The accolade comes just over a week after Coronation Street topped a public vote to secure the 'Best Serial Drama' prize at the National Television Awards.

A Coronation Street spokesperson this afternoon told DS: "We're absolutely thrilled with the award, especially after the victory at the NTAs last week. It's a fantastic start to Corrie's 50th anniversary year."

The long-running show's recent triumph at the NTAs was initially controversial, with BBC sources reportedly accusing ITV of 'fixing' the outcome of the soap poll by airing a three-minute Coronation Street showcase while phone lines were still open.

However, the ceremony's independent adjudicator PromoVeritas later confirmed that the drama was a "valid winner" as it had a "significant gain over the other contenders" at all stages of the voting.

Other notable winners at last night's Broadcast ceremony included The X Factor in the 'Best Entertainment Programme' category and The Inbetweeners for the 'Best Multichannel Programme'.