PromoVeritas, the independent National Television Award adjudicator, has confirmed that Coronation Street had a "significant gain over the other contenders" throughout the voting period at the recent awards ceremony.
Corrie won the `Most Popular Serial Drama' category in a public vote which continued through the two-and-a-half hour show.
BBC sources had expressed their displeasure at the NTA producers' decision to include a speech by Coronation Street veteran William Roache to mark the show's 50th anniversary, prior to a three-minute promo reel showcasing its upcoming storylines.
The BBC allegedly felt that both the speech and clip package influenced the public voting.
Meanwhile, EastEnders was given a 'Who Killed Archie?' camera pan across the actors who play the potential murder suspects, as well as receiving praise for its current storylines from award host Dermot O'Leary.
However, it has been revealed that the Weatherfield soap was in front of the voting from the start of the show.
Speaking on behalf of the National Television Awards, a spokesperson for PromoVeritas told Digital Spy: "With regards to the specifics of the live phone vote, Coronation Street had a significant gain over the other contenders from the start of the voting period until the end and for every monitored period within.
"We were happy on the night - and having reviewed the data again, we remain happy - with the fact that based on the combined number of votes, from all the sources and of all the stages, Coronation Street is a valid winner."
They added: "We do not believe that any editorial content would have had a material impact on the live phone voting or on the final result."
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