Cheryl Fergison, 59, unleashes damning rant at British Soap Awards as she fumes over BBC EastEnders snub
Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison has criticised the British Soap Awards for not nominating Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell, despite his “phenomenal” performance in a mental health storyline.
The 60-year-old actress took to Instagram to express her disappointment at the snub and questioned the awards committee’s decision.
McFadden’s ongoing storyline for Phil began with his split from Kat Slater (played by Jessie Wallace), with the culmination of his breakdown being that his son Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) was sent to prison in America.
The character grappled with a mental health crisis, experiencing depression with psychotic symptoms, and attempted suicide, which led to a four-week stay in a mental health unit.
Furious that McFadden didn’t get a nomination for this year’s Soap Awards, Fergison took to her Instagram story and expressed: “Are the Soap Awards having a laugh?
“Steve McFadden has not even been put on the long list, let alone the shortlist, let alone winning it. I’m sorry, are people seeing what I’m seeing when I’m watching EastEnders?”
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Fergison praised McFadden’s portrayal in what she called “a crucial storyline, an essential storyline for the general public to be watching… by an actor who is playing it phenomenally.”
She concluded: “I don’t get it, I’m sorry Soap Awards, you’ve done a real boo-boo here mate.”
Fergison’s comments sparked mixed reactions from fans on social media as one noted: “Cheryl, Steve has been put forward for other awards.”
“Ever thought he might be getting a special award???” another suggested. Although, many viewers agreed with Ferguson’s assessment.
“Totally agree with you! I’m really shocked and disappointed that he is not being recognised!! His acting as been phenomenal throughout the mental health storyline!” wrote one supporter.
The backlash prompted Fergison to address her initial comments in a second video and later cleared up: “I understand that the storyline [on Phil’s mental health] is current and maybe they decide these nominations or whatever for last year’s storyline.”
She suggested the awards committee doesn’t make the voting timeframe clear to the public and stated: “If it is for storylines that are from last year, then they should let people know.”
She added that it wasn’t fair for the public to vote for this year’s Soap Awards based on previous storylines.
“Trying to clear this up a bit so don’t shoot me down please,” she captioned the video.
After explaining her initial intentions, fans supported Fergison, as one wrote: “It certainly makes sense Cheryl, yet they still should have made that clear it was counting last years.”
Someone else penned: “Totally agree with you. I just really hope at some point in the future Steve wins an award he deserves it he has been incredible.
“It must’ve been amazing working with him. And not gonna lie, say it a lot. I really miss you in EastEnders.” (sic)