Has it really been a year already since we celebrated Soapland's rising stars? This time last summer,we named a batch of soap newcomers we had our eye on as big stars of the future – and much to our relief, at least some of our predictions were pretty good.

While a couple of our picks from last year went on to leave the soap world after their stories unexpectedly fizzled out (boo!), three of our choices actually went on to win British Soap Awards earlier this month, which we think is pretty good going.

So without further ado, we're trying our luck again by taking a look at some of the best new arrivals from the best 12 months, why they've made an impact, and what could be in store for them next.

1. Lauren McQueen as Lily Drinkwell (Hollyoaks)

Hollyoaks has given newcomer Lily a fairly subtle introduction, slowly bedding her in as part of the popular Hutchinson family and a new gang of teens. Fortunately, actress Lauren McQueen has been given far more of a chance to shine recently, withlast month's big car crash stunt leaving poor Lily withserious scarring which severely dented her self-esteem.

Lauren handled the tough scenes with great sensitivity, and now she's proved what she can do, it's already got us wondering what theHollyoaks gods will have in store for her next. Surely Lily's on-off romance with Prince McQueen will inevitably lead to even more huge drama before too long?

2. Zack Morris as Keegan Baker (EastEnders)

We've been a bit baffled this year byEastEndersintroducing a batch of new teen characters as show regulars without any real ties to the Square, so it was definitely a smart move on the part of the bosses to take us all by surprise andmake Keegan a secret part of the new Taylor family.

Keegan may be rude, aggressive and very annoying most of the time, but there's no denying that Zack Morris has a screen presence and has caught everyone's attention with his scenes this year... for better or worse. Now that he has a proper link to anEastEnders family, there's a great opportunity to explore Keegan and what makes him tick. Could we even start to like him? Stranger things have happened...

3. Scarlett Archer as Nell Fairfax (Emmerdale)

We've had a feeling for a while thatEmmerdale have big plans for Nell. She seems nice enough despite her troubled past, but we still can't shake the suspicion thatwe're only getting half the story about what she's really like.

While it's been a fairly slow introduction to keep us all guessing, we reckon there's a bigger storyline brewing which will further explore theEmmerdale newbie. Could she be playing the long game with Jai to take him for every penny he has? Is she secretly unstable? Or are there dark secrets from her past still to be unearthed?

Off the screen, we also loved Scarlettpoking fun at being branded the "Poundland Holly Barton" by fans recently – you can't say she doesn't have a sense of humour...

4. Mieke Billing-Smith as Willow Somers (Neighbours)

Neighbours pulled off one of their biggest coups ever by convincing Madeleine West to return forthe Fake Dee Bliss saga earlier this year, but the storyline just wouldn't have been the same without her reluctant on-screen sidekick Willow.

Willow could only watch on in horror as she saw her scheming mum Andrea ruthlessly con the Rebecchis, and soap newcomer Mieke perfectly pitched the scenes which saw her character completely torn by the schemer's antics.Neighboursare bringing Willow back to Ramsay Street next month and we just can't wait to see what tales she brings about Fake Dee. We also hope they don't forget her friendship with fellow teen Ben Kirk, who's crying out for a big storyline.

5. Lee Ryan as Harry 'Woody' Woodford (EastEnders)

While many were quick to criticiseEastEnders for casting 'Lee from Blue' in a role, the popstar-turned-actor quickly proved his doubters wrong. In fact, in a pretty lacklustre year for the show, his scenes actually turned out to be one thing fans didn't have much to complain about.

Lee struck up an easy chemistry with his co-stars on screen and Woody's connection with Whitney Carter caught our attention in particular. It was no real surprisewhenEastEnders later invited Lee back on a more permanent contract, but let's just hope there are still some Woody fans on the team afterthe recent changes behind-the-scenes...

6. Haiesha Mistry as Yasmine Maalik (Hollyoaks)

We expected not to like Yasmine too much when show bosses announced that she'd be the new mean girl at Hollyoaks High, but we've quickly discovered that she has a heart of gold. She's struck up a nice friendship with Peri,had her on-screen family introduced, and there have also been hints at big stories to comedue to her secret heart condition.

It's also been great to see new cast member Haiesha burst onto the screen with lots of infectious energy and funny moments – no sign of newcomer nerves here.

7. Nicola Thorp as Nicola Rubenstein (Coronation Street)

She's only been on our screens for a few weeks, butPat Phelan's long-lost daughter is already seeming like a breath of fresh air inCorrie. Professional, smart and independent, there's plenty to like about Nicola and she's certainly not what we might have expected from any offspring of evil Phelan.

Of course, the big test for Nicola's character now will be how she reacts when the truth does come out about her secret connection to Phelan. Could this be the making of Phelan and turn him into a nice guy? Or could poor Nicola get dragged down into the darker side of getting involved with the killer builder? We'd run a mile in her shoes...

8. Takaya Honda as David Tanaka (Neighbours)

It took us a little while to warm to the Tanaka brothers, and their search for their father dragged on a little too long for our liking, but we reckon David in particular is shaping up to be a great character.Neighbours is one of the best soaps for creating warm and sympathetic characters and David fits that mould perfectly as one of Erinsborough's nice guys.

If Matt Wilson's recentDigital Spy interview is anything to go by, we'll be seeing David embark on a proper relationship with Aaron Brennan in the not-too-distant future – and there's even talk of a wedding further on down the line. Life with a dodgy brother like Leo and even more dodgy dad like Paul will also never be dull, so we're sure to see David tested with even more challenging storylines as the year goes on.

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