Emmerdale star Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays Belle Dingle on the ITV soap opera, has missed out on a top TV award this evening and soap fans are not happy

Eden Taylor-Draper missed out on the night at the NTAs (Image: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

Eden Taylor-Draper, familiar as Belle Dingle in Emmerdale, narrowly missed out on bagging a coveted accolade at the 2024 National Television Awards, leaving soap buffs across the nation up in arms.

The Selby-born actress, who took on the role aged just eight, has been lauded for her portrayal in a challenging coercive and controlling relationship storyline, which significantly bolstered her reputation post-child star era.

Despite the high praise and evident growth in her acting chops, she was pipped to the post on Wednesday evening by Coronation Street’s Peter Ash, who captivated audiences with an inspiring MND plotline.

Soap enthusiasts were not shy about voicing their discontent on X, previously known as Twitter, with some asserting that Taylor-Draper had been “robbed” of the honour. The Twittersphere echoed with support for Eden; @liamjmellor80 stated: “Yes, Peter Ash has been excellent. I feel Eden Taylor-Draper was robbed though.”

Meanwhile, @MEENAJUTLAS passionately declared: “angela wynter, diane parish, eden taylor draper were robbed idc.”

@ShaniaMay17 concurred: “Eden Taylor Draper was definitely robbed.”, reports Leeds Live.

Nevertheless, some fans hold out hope that next year Taylor-Draper will claim the prize, with @d_a_v_e_m_a confidentally tweeting: “Eden Taylor Draper will win at the soap awards next year 100 per cent.”

Despite not winning this time, Eden Taylor-Draper has already bagged the Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress Award and the Best Young Performance award at the British Soap Awards, as well as the Best Young Actor award at the Inside Soap Awards.

One person who looked unimpressed at losing was Martin Lewis, who lost out nto Stacey Solomon on the night for the the award for Factual Entertainment.

As Stacey went to get her award, fans rushed to social media. One fan said: “You could tell Martin Lewis was raging he wanted to win he’s sitting there thinking I do all this s** for what nothing.”

A second said: “Martin Lewis is fuuuuming.” While a third added: “Martin Lewis is livid.”