Mark Rylance, Mary Berry, Sue MacGregor, Suranne Jones and Aidan Turner
take top prizes at 42nd Broadcasting Press Guild Awards
The BBC Two drama Wolf Hall and the Channel 4 comedy Catastrophe are double-winners at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by journalists who write about TV and radio.
The 42nd BPG awards lunch, sponsored by Sky’s streaming service NOW TV, is taking place today at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. (Full list of winners below)
Mark Rylance was named best actor for his role as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall, which also won the award for best drama series. That award will be received at today’s ceremony by the director Peter Kosminksy and actors Claire Foy and Mark Gatiss.
Catastrophe was voted best comedy and its writers Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan won the BPG award for best writers.
Suranne Jones won the award for best actress for her performance as Gemma Foster in Doctor Foster on BBC One. Her award is being collected by her co-star Adam James. The BPG breakthrough award, for someone who attained a new level of success in 2015, has gone to Aidan Turner for his roles in Poldark and And Then There Were None, both on BBC One. His award will be collected by one of his Poldark co-stars Heida Reed.
The award for best single drama went to JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls on BBC One drama. Two of its stars, Miranda Richardson and Ken Stott are collecting the award at today’s ceremony.
The BPG Awards – given only for work commissioned in the UK – are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers.
Channel 4 won both the documentary awards. My Son The Jihadi was voted best single documentary and The Murder Detectives won the award for best documentary series. The award for best entertainment or factual entertainment show went to BBC One’s The Great British Bake Off, and the award will be collected by Mary Berry.
This year the BPG is recognising the growing importance of programmes commissioned for showing online first, instead of on a broadcast channel. This has gone to Peter Kay’s Car Share, which was shown first on BBC iPlayer.
The annual BPG award for innovation went to Russell T Davies, for the multiplatform series: Cucumber, Banana and Tofu (C4, E4 and All 4).
Radio 4’s The Reunion, chaired by Sue MacGregor, was named Radio Programme of the Year for a wide range of subjects, including the Spycatcher trial, the Birmingham Six, Far East POWs, Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads, Peter Brooke’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Wallace and Gromit creative team.
Comedy writer and performer John Finnemore was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year for John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme. The judges also commended his writing and in particular the series John Finnemore’s Double Acts.
The Harvey Lee award for an outstanding contribution to broadcasting, which is in the gift of the BPG executive committee, recognises the comedy writer, producer and presenter John Lloyd. He has created many of Britain’s most innovative and enduring comedy series on radio and television, including The News Quiz, The News Huddlines, Quote Unquote, To The Manor Born, Not the Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, Spitting Image and QI. He currently presents The Museum of Curiosity on BBC Radio 4.
All media requests for today’s event:
Ben Griffiths, PR Manager for NOW TV
benjamin.griffiths@sky.uk
T: 020 7032 1170
M: 07807 358 033
A: Believe in Better Building | Grant Way| Isleworth | TW7 5QD
All photography requests:
Sophie Jones, PR Manager for NOW TV
sophie.jones@sky.uk
T: 020 70323513
M: 07807 358770
A: Believe in Better Building | Grant Way| Isleworth | TW7 5Q
For social media, follow:
www.twitter.com/BPGPressGuild
www.twitter.com/NOWTV
#BPGAwards
https://www.facebook.com
Notes to editors
1. The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than 120 members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites.
2. The invitation-only event in the Grand Saloon of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is sponsored by Sky’s streaming service NOW TV and attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. Details of the nominations, previous BPG awards and NOW TV can be found at http://broadcastingpressguild.org, together with pictures, videos and a history of the Guild. The NOW TV website is: http://www.nowtv.com
3. Harvey Lee – in honour of whom our Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award is named – was a leading light of the BPG, who died at the tragically early age of 41. The award for outstanding achievement has been given in his memory every year since every year since 1992. Previous winners are named on our website: www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee/
For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, please contact:
Torin Douglas, BPG torindouglas@aol.com or 07860 422992
EMBARGOED till 12 Noon Friday March 11th 2015
The full list of BPG TV and Radio Awards winners is:
Best Single Drama
An Inspector Calls
A Drama Republic production for BBC One
Best Drama Series
Wolf Hall
A Company Pictures & Playground Entertainment Production for BBC & Masterpiece, in association with BBC Worldwide and Prescience
Best Single Documentary
My Son The Jihadi
A True Vision production for Channel 4
Best Documentary Series
The Murder Detectives
A Films of Record production for Channel 4
Best Entertainment/ Factual Entertainment
The Great British Bake Off
Love Productions for BBC One
Best Made for Online (Digital First)
Peter Kay’s Car Share
Goodnight Vienna Productions for BBC iPlayer
Best Comedy
Catastrophe
An Avalon Television production with co-producers Birdbath Productions & Merman for Channel 4
Radio Broadcaster of the Year
John Finnemore for John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4
Radio Programme of the Year
The Reunion, presented by Sue MacGregor
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
Best Actor
Mark Rylance – Wolf Hall
A Company Pictures & Playground Entertainment Production for BBC & Masterpiece, in association with BBC Worldwide and Prescience
Best Actress
Suranne Jones – Doctor Foster
A Drama Republic production for BBC One
Best Writer
Sharon Horgan & Rob Delaney – Catastrophe
An Avalon Television production with co-producers Birdbath Productions & Merman for Channel 4
Breakthrough Award
Aidan Turner for his role as Captain Ross Poldark in Poldark (A Mammoth Screen production for BBC One) and for his role as Philip Lombard in And Then There Were None (A Mammoth Screen, Agatha Christie Productions and A&E Television Networks production for BBC One)
Innovation Award
Russell T Davies
For creating the multiplatform drama series Cucumber, Banana & Tofu, for the differing but interlinked audiences of Channel 4, E4 and All 4.
Harvey Lee Award
John Lloyd
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