BPG announces 36th Annual TV and Radio Awards nominations

Peter Capaldi, David Morrissey, James Nesbitt and David Tennant have been shortlisted for the Best Actor award in the 36th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, to be presented next month at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Tennant is named for two roles, as Hamlet and the Doctor in Doctor Who.  James Nesbitt is also nominated for two productions, Occupation, in which he plays a soldier in the Iraq War, and Five Minutes of Heaven, about the conflict in Northern Ireland. Peter Capaldi is named for his performance as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, and David Morrissey for the trilogy Red Riding, in which he plays a senior police officer.

The highly-prized BPG awards are selected by journalists who write about TV and radio – correspondents, critics and previewers. Previous Best Actor winners include Kenneth Branagh, Colin Firth, Sir Alec Guinness, Albert Finney, Charles Dance, Robert Hardy, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Ecclestone, and Philip Glenister (Click Here see details and photos).

The BPG Awards lunch has a new sponsor this year – Dave, the “home of witty banter”, one of ten channels broadcast by leading multi-channel operator UKTV: http://www.joindave.co.uk. The invitation-only ceremony will be attended by the winners and leading broadcasting executives.

In the Best Actress category, Julie Walters is nominated for two highly contrasting performances, in A Short Stay In Switzerland and Victoria Wood’s Midlife Christmas. She’ll compete with Helena Bonham-Carter (Enid), Maxine Peake (Criminal Justice and The Street), and Rebecca Front (The Thick of It).

Enid and A Short Stay In Switzerland will also be competing in the best single drama category, against Five Minutes of Heaven. The shortlist for drama series is: Being Human, Occupation, Red Riding Trilogy and The Street.

In the writer’s category, Peter Moffatt is nominated for Criminal Justice, Peter Bowker for Occupation, Paula Milne for Endgame and Small Island, and Armando Iannucci and team for The Thick of It.

The Thick of It is also in contention for the best comedy/entertainment award, competing against The Inbetweeners, and Outnumbered.

Simon Cowell of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, is nominated in the category for best non-acting performer. He’ll compete against Fern Britton (This Morning, Fern Britton Meets…), Adrian Chiles (The One Show) and Gareth Malone (The Choir: Unsung Town). The Choir: Unsung Town is also nominated as best Factual Entertainment show, competing against Come Dine With Me, Inside Nature’s Giants, and Who Do You Think You Are?

David Attenborough’s Life will compete with Andrew Marr’s Making of Modern Britain in the best documentary/factual series category, along with Iran & The West. The single documentary award will be contested by 9/11: Phone Calls from the Towers, Dispatches: Terror in Mumbai, and Man on Wire.

Sky 1’s Ross Kemp Returns to Afghanistan has been shortlisted for the multichannel award. The other contenders are One and Another, Sky Arts Theatre Live (both Sky Arts) and The Take (Sky 1). BBC One and BBC Two dominate the other categories with dozen norminations each, followed by Channel 4 with seven.

The shortlists for radio broadcaster of the year and radio programme of the year will be announced separately.

The winners will be announced at the BPG Awards lunch at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on Friday March 26th, 2010, together with the Innovation Award and the Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting. Winners will be informed in advance and places at the lunch are by invitation only.

The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than a hundred members – journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media. They include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites. Details of previous BPG Awards winners can be found at http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/awards.

Further information from Torin Douglas, BPG,  020 8624 9052

The full list of nominations is:

Best Single Drama
A Short Stay In Switzerland, BBC One
Enid, BBC Four
Five Minutes of Heaven, BBC Two

Best Drama Series
Being Human, BBC Three
Occupation, BBC One
Red Riding Trilogy, Channel 4
The Street, BBC One

Best Single Documentary/Factual Programme
9/11: Phone Calls from the Towers, Channel 4
Dispatches: Terror in Mumbai, Channel 4
Man on Wire, BBC Two

Best Documentary/Factual Series
Andrew Marr’s Making of Modern Britain, BBC Two
Iran & the West. BBC Two
Life, BBC One

Best Factual Entertainment
The Choir: Unsung Town, BBC Two
Come Dine with Me, Channel 4
Inside Nature’s Giants, Channel 4
Who do You Think You Are? BBC One

Best Comedy/Entertainment
The Inbetweeners, E4
Outnumbered, BBC One
The Thick of It, BBC Two

Best Multichannel Programme
One and Other, Sky Arts
Sky Arts Theatre Live!, Sky Arts
The Take, Sky 1
Ross Kemp Returns to Afghanistan, Sky 1

Best Performer in Non-acting Role
Fern Britton – This Morning, Fern Britton Meets…
Adrian Chiles  – The One Show
Simon Cowell – The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent
Gareth Malone – The Choir: Unsung Town

Best Actress
Helena Bonham Carter, Enid, BBC Four
Rebecca Front, The Thick of It, BBC Two
Maxine Peake, Criminal Justice and The Street, BBC One
Julie Walters, A Short Stay in Switzerland, and Victoria Wood’s Midlife Christmas, BBC One

Best Actor
Peter Capaldi, The Thick of It, BBC Two
David Morrissey, Red Riding Trilogy, Channel 4
James Nesbitt, Occupation, BBC One, and Five Minutes of Heaven, BBC Two
David Tennant, Hamlet, BBC Two, and Doctor Who, BBC One

Writer’s Award
Peter Bowker, Occupation, BBC One
Armando Iannucci et al, The Thick of It, BBC Two
Paula Milne, Endgame, Channel 4 and Small Island, BBC One
Peter Moffat, Criminal Justice, BBC One