The British Soap Awards underperformed in the ratings on Thursday evening (May 21), overnight figures show.
The two-hour ceremony, which saw EastEnders take home most of the prizes, pulled in 3.92m (19.8%) at 8pm on ITV and 274k (1.5%) on +1.
Figures were down 1.2m on last year's event, which had aired on a Sunday evening just one day after the ceremony.
Emmerdale was the most-watched programme of the day, attracting 4.96m (28.1%) at 7pm on ITV and 265k (1.4%) on +1 as Laurel finally admitted that she is an alcoholic in an hour-long episode.
Clashing with Emmerdale, EastEnders dipped to 4.59m (24.3%) at 7.30pm on BBC One as Alfie was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
During the 30-minute clash period itself, Emmerdale had 4.91m and a 26.1% share. BBC Three's EastEnders repeat screening later saw a boost as 625k (3.7%) took the opportunity to catch up at 10pm.
Elsewhere, Hollyoaks remained steady with 819k (5.6%) at 6.30pm on Channel 4 as Patrick won custody of Minnie, while an emotional E4 first look followed with 545k (3.3%) at 7pm and 137k (0.8%) on +1.
Doctors continued with 1.23m (21.2%) at 1.45pm on BBC One as Zara took her frustrations out on Sid.
Terese's struggles with Ezra in Neighbours entertained 558k (9.5%) at 1.45pm and 642k (5.5%) at 5.30pm on Channel 5.
