Inside Soap Awards. Dawson was nominated for "Best Actor", "Funniest Performance" and "Sexiest Male" in 2010 for his role as Darren at the Inside Soap Awards. Also in 2010, at the British Soap Awards, Dawson was nominated for the "Sexiest Male" award. In 2011 he received a nomination for "Sexiest Male" at the British Soap Awards. In 2012 Dawson was again nominated for "Best Actor" and for "Best On-Screen Partnership" at the British Soap Awards. In 2012 Dawson was nominated for "Best Actor" at the 2012 TV Choice Awards. At the 2012 Inside Soap Awards Dawson was nominated for "Best Actor" and "Sexiest Male". In August 2017, Dawson was longlisted for Funniest Male at the Inside Soap Awards. He made the viewer-voted shortlist, but lost out to Dominic Brunt, who portrays Paddy Kirk in Emmerdale. Darren was listed in "The Top 100 Soap Hunks of All Time" by What's on TV. Dawson was 8th in the "Sexiest Soap Stars" MSN poll. An Inside Soap critic commented that Darren was initially a "freckly auburn-haired forgettable schoolboy" when played by Booth. They added that Booth's Darren is a "very distant recollection" while Dawson has "made the part his own in such a big way that we've decided to wipe the other one from history". His character was branded a "rat" and "dastardly" for splitting up Gina and Emily by the Daily Record. Upon Darren's 2003 return to Hollyoaks, the Sunday Mercury said he had become "even more of a pain in the neck". They later called the character "a really nasty piece of work" and when he stole from his father, they questioned if Jack would "see what he's really like". Inside Soaps Peter Griffiths referred to Darren as one of the serial's "reliable stalwarts", saying it was a "relief" when he appeared and added that Darren was one of the characters who can "be relied upon to deliver". He added that the "tried-and-tested" characters helped the show through its rough patches and that they should be given the storylines they deserved. Griffiths' colleague Sarah maintained that Darren was the only part of the show that held her interest. The Press and Journal described Darren's time on the soap, saying: "He languished in prison for helping his father fake his own death, has battled a crippling gambling addiction and has been known to steal people's girlfriends and break up relationships". Kris Green