Emmerdale regains Serial Drama crown at NTAs 2026
The ITV soap opera Emmerdale won the Best Serial Drama award at the 2026 National Television Awards in London. The show reclaimed the title after losing to EastEnders in the previous year's ceremony.
Why it matters
The National Television Awards are a major cultural barometer for British television popularity and industry success.
Emmerdale reigned supreme at this year's National Television Award as the ITV soap took back the crown for Best Serial Drama.After losing out to EastEnders at the 2025 ceremony, the Yorkshire-based soap found itself back on top as it won the biggest award of the night on Tuesday (8 September) evening.This year's NTAs, hosted by comedian Joel Dommett for the sixth year in a row, saw an array of famous faces descend on The O2 in London, but it was the cast of Emmerdale who took to the stage at the end of the ceremony to enjoy their big win.Of course, Emmerdale also went up against Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Casualty for the prestigious award, and the cast looked delighted to have been chosen by the general public.Related: Best streaming services UK 2025 — including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV+The accolade was presented by none other than Desperate…
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