The broadcast didn’t get underway for over five minutes after a techical error
British Soap Awards viewers went into panic mode as ITV aired a ‘breaking news’ announcement at the beginning of its broadcast.
Soap fans had to wait five days to see the action unfold from the awards bash, with the annual event taking place at Hackney Empire in London on Saturday night (May 31).
While the majority of viewers knew that EastEnders dominated the night, many still wanted to tune in to see how it all went down.
Loose Women panellist Jane McDonald was on presenting duties for the second time, with the ceremony skipping 2024.
Viewers were then left confused when it didn’t air for over five minutes after its scheduled start time.
Once 8pm hit, viewers were met with an apology message that stayed on the screen for over five minutes.
With background music playing, the message read: “We’re sorry for the disruption.”
Eventually sorting the issue out, the programme began with a pre-recorded sketch featuring Loose Women star Charlene White.
Rather than joining her and fellow panellists, Charlene was seen in the ITV News studio, her other workplace.
Charlene informed viewers that the Soap Awards were about to get underway and that stars from Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders and Hollyoaks were all in attendance.
Due to the madness that occurred moments before the show began, many viewers took to social media to have their say.
According to multiple users on X, previously known as Twitter, they feared that something dramatic may have gone down.
@bronzingbarbie said: “Who thought there was an emergency there when the news appeared after a broken soap awards hahahaha (yes I know it was fake) but didn’t sit good after that BUSTING FOR REAL HAHAHA.”
@AmyJoanne__ wrote: “S*** myself when Charlene White popped up on the news like a story was breaking or something.” @B60512B added: “Felt like another lockdown alert when Charlene appeared #soapawards.”
@EloquentParrot commented: “Haha when it started with the news then, I did wonder.. .#SoapAwards.” @blue_laur11 posted: “Yeah me too I was like oh god what’s happened now lol.”
Thankfully, the ITV News intro was planned and viewers had nothing to worry about in spite of the spooky coincidence.
