Coronation Street dedicated Best Soap award at BAFTAs to Sophie & Sylvia Lancaster
Coronation Street's coveted Best Soap win at the BAFTAs last night was dedicated to Sophie Lancaster and her mum Sylvia, whose story became the basis of a hard-hitting storyline about hate crime.
Sylvia founded the Sophie Lancaster Foundation in memory of her daughter, who was killed in a park in Bacup back in 2007 because she was dressed as a goth.
Sylvia died in April 2022, with her death described as "sudden and unexpected" in an announcement on the Foundation's Facebook page.
When picking up the award, actress Sally Dynevor dedicated the win to the pair saying:
"We weren't expecting this tonight, we really weren't, so thank you so much Bafta for this award.
"Working on this show is just a privilege - and the drama and the comedy go so well on Corrie.
"And one of the most important stories we have told this year was the hate crime story. So we would like to dedicate this to Sophie Lancaster and her mother Sylvia Lancaster."
Sylvia's daughter was 20 when she was set upon by drunk teenagers in a park in Bacup, Lancashire.
The gang turned on her and her boyfriend, Rob Maltby, who survived the attack, because of their alternative appearance.
Sophie was kicked and stamped on as she cradled the injured Mr Maltby.
Both fell into comas but Sophie, a gap-year student, never regained consciousness and died in hospital 13 days later.
Sylvia was awarded an OBE in 2014 for her work to tackle hate crime.