Watch EastEnders' Kellie Bright win Best Actress at the British Soap Awards (VIDEO)

(Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

Kellie Bright won Best Actress at the British Soap Awards on Saturday for her portrayal of rape victim Linda Carter in EastEnders.

Linda has had a harrowing time since she was sexually attacked by her brother-in-law Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) last year. She has had suffer his taunts while he's managed to evade justice and at the same time deal with her emotions while trying to keep husband Mick from extracting his own type of justice.

Kellie beat her EastEnders co-star Laurie Brett to win the award on Saturday and said in her wining speech: "I have to say a very special shout out to the incredible Laurie Brett because it is one thing being good at what you do when you get to do take three, take four, take five... But to do that live, be that good live, four nights in a row, that is something else!" "]

Kellie also revealed she was in the presence of her very first TV crush at the awards. Find out who, above.

The British Soap Awards screen on ITV on Thursday night at 8pm.

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.