EastEnders star Jo Joyner leads nominations at this evening's British Soap Awards

The soap world's "Oscars" take place tonight, as Coronation Street, EastEnders, Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and Doctors battle it out for gongs.

EastEnders star Jo Joyner is leading the pack with a string of nominations at the British Soap Awards, which are being held at ITV's studios on London's South Bank.

Joyner, whose character Tanya Jessop has been at the centre of a dramatic storyline after being diagnosed with cancer, is shortlisted for best actress and best dramatic performance.

And her troubled relationship with Max Branning also sees her and co-star Jake Wood nominated for best on-screen partnership as well as best storyline.

The other best actress hopefuls are Nina Wadia, who plays Albert Square resident Zainab Khan, Coronation Street's Alison King, who plays Carla Connor, and Hollyoaks star Karen Hassan, who plays Lynsey Nolan.

The best actor nominees are Corrie's Chris Gascoyne (Peter Barlow), EastEnders star Shane Richie (Alfie Moon), Emmerdale's Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy) and Emmett J Scanlan who plays Hollyoaks villain Brendan Brady.

Coronation Street's Michelle Keegan is once again in the running for the sexiest female award, while EastEnders hunk Scott Maslen will be hoping to hold on to his sexiest male crown at the glitzy bash.

Walford's farewell to cast stalwart Pam St Clement, who played Pat Butcher for 25 years, is nominated for the best single episode.

And all five dramas are nominated for best British soap, a viewer-voted award which was picked up last year by EastEnders.

Hosted by Phillip Schofield, there are 17 awards in total, voted for by a panel of expert judges or by the public.

A lifetime achievement award and a special achievement gong will be announced on the night.

The ceremony will be shown on ITV1 at 8pm on Wednesday May 2.

Here are the British Soap Awards nominations:

Sexiest Male

Coronation Street: Chris Fountain (Tommy Duckworth)

EastEnders: Scott Maslen (Jack Branning)

Emmerdale: Matthew Wolfenden (David Metcalfe)

Hollyoaks: Danny Mac (Mark 'Dodger' Savage)

Sexiest Female

Coronation Street: Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre)

EastEnders: Jacqueline Jossa (Lauren Branning)

EastEnders: Preeya Kalidas (Amira Masood)

Hollyoaks: Jorgie Porter (Theresa McQueen)

Villain of the Year

Coronation Street: Andrew Lancel (Frank Foster)

EastEnders: Ace Bhatti (Dr Yusef Khan)

EastEnders: Joshua Pascoe (Ben Mitchell)

Hollyoaks: Jeff Rawle (Silas Blissett)

Best Actor

Coronation Street: Chris Gascoyne (Peter Barlow)

EastEnders: Shane Richie (Alfie Moon)

Emmerdale: Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy)

Hollyoaks: Emmett J Scanlan (Brendan Brady)

Best Actress

Coronation Street: Alison King (Carla Connor)

EastEnders: Jo Joyner (Tanya Jessop)

EastEnders: Nina Wadia (Zainab Khan)

Hollyoaks: Karen Hassan (Lynsey Nolan)

Best Comedy Performance

Coronation Street: Stephanie Cole (Sylvia Goodwin)

Doctors: Jan Pearson (Karen Hollins)

EastEnders: Tameka Empson (Kim Fox)

Hollyoaks: Joe Tracini (Dennis Savage)

Best Young Performance

Coronation Street: Alexander Bain (Simon Barlow)

Doctors: Charlie Kenyon (Cameron Waterhouse)

EastEnders: Lorna Fitzgerald (Abi Branning)

Emmerdale: Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle)

Spectacular Scene of the Year

Coronation Street: Carla's Car Crash

EastEnders: Fire at the B&B

Emmerdale: John & Moira's Car Accident

Hollyoaks: Rae's Murder

Best On-Screen Partnership

Doctors: Matthew Chambers and Elisabeth Dermot Walsh (Dr Daniel Granger and Dr Zara Carmichael)

EastEnders: Jake Wood and Jo Joyner (Max Branning and Tanya Jessop)

Emmerdale: Jeff Hordley and Emma Atkins (Cain Dingle and Charity Sharma)

Hollyoaks: Ashley Taylor Dawson and Jessica Fox (Darren Osborne and Nancy

Osborne)

Best Newcomer

Coronation Street: Natalie Gumede (Kirsty Soames)

Doctors: Lu Corfield (Freya Wilson)

EastEnders: Jamie Foreman (Derek Branning)

Emmerdale: Gemma Oaten (Rachel Breckle)

Best Exit

Coronation Street: Katherine Kelly (Becky McDonald)

EastEnders: Pam St Clement (Pat Evans)

Emmerdale: James Thornton (John Barton)

Hollyoaks: Kim Tiddy (Heidi Costello)

Best Dramatic Performance

Coronation Street: Alison King (Carla Connor)

Doctors: Owen Brenman (Dr Heston Carter)

EastEnders: Jo Joyner (Tanya Jessop)

Emmerdale: Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle)

Best Storyline

Coronation Street: Carla's Ordeal

Doctors: A Perfect Murder

EastEnders: The Brannings deal with Tanya's diagnosis

Emmerdale: Jackson's Choice

Best Single Episode

Coronation Street: Becky's Final Farewell

Doctors: Last Words

EastEnders: Pat: The End of an Era

Emmerdale: The Longest Day

Best British Soap

Coronation Street

Doctors

EastEnders

Emmerdale

Hollyoaks