Jane McDonald to replace Phillip Schofield as British Soap Awards host

Jane McDonald has been announced as the new host for the British Soap Awards following Phillip Schofield’s departure from ITV.

The ceremony, which had been hosted by Schofield since 2006, is due to take place on Saturday in Salford, Greater Manchester.

McDonald, a singer and TV presenter known for shows including Cruising With Jane McDonald and Loose Women, said she was “so excited” to take over hosting duties.

In a statement shared on Instagram, the 60-year-old said: “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.”

Schofield last week admitted to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a younger male colleague and stepped down from his roles with ITV. He was also dropped by talent agency YMU.

Following the revelations, the 61-year-old was also dropped as an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust charity and ITV has asked a barrister to carry out an external review of his departure from This Morning. ITV bosses will be quizzed by MPs next week over their handling of the situation.

The furore over Schofield had threatened to overshadow the awards ceremony while the scandal dominated headlines.

Announcing the “fabulous” McDonald as the new host of the ceremony, organisers said: “As a super huge soap fan she’s in for a treat as we celebrate all our wonderful soaps in a star studded glittering event.”

The awards ceremony will air on ITV on Tuesday evening.

Who is Jane McDonald?

McDonald rose to fame in 1998, when she appeared in the BBC docusoap The Cruise. She went on to achieve success as a singer and stage star, releasing several albums, and also as a TV presenter – winning a BAFTA for travel show Cruising With Jane McDonald, and going on to host Holidaying With Jane McDonald.

She was also a panellist on ITV’s Loose Women for several years.

In 2021, her long-term fiance, musician Eddie Rothe, died following a cancer diagnosis.

Read more on Phillip Schofield:
Timeline of ITV departure after colleague affair
Key extracts from ITV’s letter on external review into scandal
Eamonn Holmes alleges ‘total cover-up’

How Phillip Schofield’s career unravelled

Schofield originally said he was leaving This Morning after more than two decades because he had “become the story” following rumours of a rift between him and co-presenter Holly Willoughby. Reports of the rift came after his brother was jailed for 12 years over child sex offences.

At the time of this first announcement, ITV described Schofield as “hands down one of the best broadcasters of his generation” and said they would continue to work with him on other projects, including the soap awards.

However, he was dropped entirely when details of the affair emerged the following week.

Willoughby, 41, is due to return to the show on Monday, when she returns from holiday.

Ahead of the soap awards airing later the following evening, ITV executives will appear before MPs on the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

They had been scheduled to appear before the committee anyway, to discuss the draft Media Bill, but have been told to expect an interrogation over the Schofield affair as well.

The external review

In a letter sent to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, Culture, Media and Sport Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage, and Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall announced the external review.

“You will have seen the significant media coverage concerning Phillip Schofield,” she wrote. “As you would expect we take the matter extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records over the weekend.

“Given the ongoing rumours, we continued to ask questions of both parties, who both continued to deny the rumours, including as recently as this month.

“There has been a lot of inaccuracy in the reporting so I thought it would be useful to set out some facts.”

She said ITV had instructed Jane Mulcahy KC, of Blackstone Chambers, to “carry out an external review to establish the facts”.