JANE FEATHERSTONE AND ANNE MENSAH HONOURED WITH SPECIAL AWARDS AT BPG TELEVISION, STREAMING AND AUDIO AWARDS 2025

– Wolf Hall’s Playground and Company Pictures also recognised in BPG Jury Special Awards –

– Broadcasting Press Guild’s BPG Awards 51^st Edition will take place on Thursday 20 March –

London, Monday 17^th March 2025: The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) proudly announces its Special Award winners for the BPG Awards 2025, which celebrates the very best in British Television, Streaming and Audio. Chosen by journalists who write about television, streaming and audio, the three Special Award categories are bestowed by the BPG Executive Committee to award Excellence in British Drama, Outstanding TV Executive and the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Drama (Sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery), and will be handed out during the ceremony on March 20.

Sister Pictures co-founder and executive producer Jane Featherstone will be honoured at this week’s BPG Awards with the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery. This prestigious award celebrates Featherstone’s remarkable career, which has helped shape the landscape of British television. As the former CEO of Kudos and co-chairman of Shine UK, Featherstone played a pivotal role in bringing high-quality drama to mainstream audiences, transforming Kudos into one of the UK’s most influential independent production companies. Under her leadership, Kudos produced some of the country’s most groundbreaking and beloved dramas, including the BAFTA-winning Broadchurch and Life on Mars, as well as Spooks and The Hour. In 2015, she founded Sister Pictures, which has since become one of the UK’s leading international drama producers. The company is known for an impressive portfolio of acclaimed and award-winning series, including Chernobyl, Giri/Haji, Black Doves, This Is Going to Hurt, Gangs of London, and The Split.

Anne Mensah, Vice President of Content at Netflix UK, is awarded with the BPG Jury Prize for Outstanding TV Executive. This award celebrates her significant contributions to British television since joining Netflix in 2019 as one of its most senior UK executives. In her role, Mensah oversees scripted, unscripted, film, and acquisitions in the region. As Netflix’s first UK-based commissioner, she has played a pivotal role in bringing acclaimed projects to life, including BPG Awards 2025 nominees Baby Reindeer, Strike: The Uncivil War, and Scoop. A passionate advocate for diversity in the industry, Mensah has championed underrepresented British voices both on- and off-screen. Her efforts include commissioning groundbreaking series such as Supacell and Heartstopper, as well as investing in scholarships and training programs to support Black creators and emerging talent.

This year’s BPG Jury Award for Excellence in British Drama goes to Playground and Company Pictures for their captivating series Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light on BBC1. Starring BPG Awards 2025 nominee Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell, the series (also nominated in the BPG Drama category) concludes the acclaimed Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning Wolf Hall saga, based on Hilary Mantel’s novels. A decade after the first series, The Mirror & The Light reunites the original creative team to chronicle the dramatic rise and fall of one of Henry VIII’s most influential advisors.

The winners of the BPG Awards 2025 Special Awards will be presented with their accolades at the 51^st edition of the Broadcasting Press Guild’s BPG Awards 2025 on Thursday 20 March.

The BPG’s chair Manori Ravindran said: “The BPG Awards have long celebrated the very best in British television, streaming, and audio, and this year’s Special Award winners exemplify excellence, innovation, and storytelling at its finest. From the gripping conclusion of Wolf Hall to the visionary leadership of Anne Mensah and Jane Featherstone’s extraordinary contributions to drama, these honourees have shaped the industry in profound ways. We are proud to recognise their remarkable achievements.”

The previously announced full list of BPG Awards 2025 nominees can be found here

The Broadcasting Press Guild marked its 50th anniversary last year. The Guild began in 1974 and continues to bring together the best TV and audio writers, industry correspondents, critics and previewers. The BPG Television, Streaming & Audio Awards are for work commissioned or produced in the UK and screened in 2024. These prizes are highly valued by programme-makers because they are chosen independently by the BPG’s expert members.

The BPG Awards are made possible with thanks to the 2025 sponsors: Warner Bros. Discovery, BBC Studios, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Pact.

For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild please visit:  http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org

X (formerly Twitter): @BPGPressGuild #BPGAwards

Instagram: @bpgpressguild

LinkedIn: Broadcasting Press Guild

– ENDS –

BPG AWARDS 2025 – SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS:

HARVEY LEE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BROADCASTING (Sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery)

Jane Featherstone

BPG JURY PRIZE FOR OUTSTANDING TV EXECUTIVE
Anne Mensah
VP, Content at Netflix

BPG JURY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN BRITISH DRAMA

Wolf Hall
Playground and Company Pictures for BBC One

For further information please contact:

Number Nine PR

Charlie Wainwright

charlie@numberninepr.com

charliewainwrightpr@gmail.com  

Esther Beaumont

estherbeaumont50@gmail.com

Notes to Editors:

• The winners of the TV and Streaming Awards listed will be announced at the 51st BPG Awards event on Thursday March 20 2025 at The Everyman Broadgate on Finsbury Avenue in the City of London. The Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting and two BPG Jury Prizes will be presented at the same time.

• The BPG Television, Streaming and Audio Awards are presented for work commissioned or premiered in the UK and screened in 2024. Programmes which were first streamed online are nominated and voted for alongside broadcast channel commissions originating in the UK.

• The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than 110 members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, streaming, radio podcasts and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and online publishers.

• Programme winners in the past in entertainment, comedy, documentary and drama include some of the most renowned and significant shows in UK television history and range from Life On Earth, The Up Series, Shameless, The Jewel In The Crown and The Thick Of It to Downton Abbey, Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland, Ghosts, The Crown, Fleabag, Happy Valley, Dispatches: Russell Brand – In Plain Sight and Have I Got News For You.

• Past BPG Best Actress winners include Glenda Jackson, Eileen Atkins, Helen Mirren, Peggy Ashcroft, Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Redgrave, Diana Rigg, Zoe Wanamaker, Julie Walters, Olivia Colman, Keeley Hawes, Sheridan Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Claire Foy, Jodie Comer and Sarah Lancashire.

• Past BPG Best Actor winners include Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Alec Guinness, Albert Finney, Charles Dance, Robert Hardy, Jim Broadbent, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones, Stephen Graham, Ben Whishaw, Dominic West and Gary Oldman (see more details and photos at http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/).

• Previous winners of the BPG Radio/Audio Broadcaster award include Aasmah Mir, Clara Amfo, Alistair Cooke, Sir Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley, Samira Ahmed, James O’Brien, Jane Garvey, Emma Barnett, Nick Ferrari, Eddie Mair, Lauren Laverne, Jonathan Ross, Evan Davis, Simon Mayo, Kirsty Young, Brian Redhead, Sir Mark Tully, Sandy Toksvig, John Finnemore, Michael Buerk and Susannah Simons.

• Supporting the Awards, the BPG Awards 2025 Sponsors are: Warner Bros. Discovery, BBC Studios, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Pact.

• • Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC, HBO, Max, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Film Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, and others.

• • BBC Studios is the main commercial arm of BBC Commercial Ltd and generated revenues of £1.8 billion in the last year and profits of over £200 million for a third consecutive year. Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen and beyond, the business is built on two operating areas: the Content Studio, which produces, invests and distributes TV and audio globally and Media & Streaming, with BBC branded channels, services including UKTV, bbc.com and BritBox International and joint ventures in the UK and internationally. The business made more than 2,800 hours of award-winning British programmes last year for a wide range of UK and global broadcasters and platforms. Its content is internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms and includes world-famous brands like Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, the Planet series, Bluey and Doctor Who.

• • Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services, with 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films, and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching, as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time

• • Prime Video is a first-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one app available across thousands of devices. On Prime Video, customers can customize their viewing experience and find their favourite movies, series, documentaries, and live sports – including Amazon MGM Studios-produced series and movies Red One, Road House, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Fallout, Reacher, The Boys, Cross, and The Idea of You; UK produced Originals such as Clarkson’s Farm, The Rig, The Devil’s Hour, The Grand Tour and 007: Road To A Million, licensed fan favourites Nine Perfect Strangers and The Continental: From The World of John Wick; exclusive entertainment such as UEFA Champions League; and programming from partners such as Apple TV+, hayu, Paramount +, discovery+ Premium (incl. TNT Sport) and Crunchyroll via Prime Video add-on subscriptions, as well as more than 700 free ad-supported (FAST) Channels globally. Prime Video is one benefit among many that provides savings, convenience, and entertainment as part of the Prime membership. All customers, regardless of whether they have a Prime membership or not, can rent or buy titles via the Prime Video Store, and can enjoy even more content for free with ads. Customers can also go behind the scenes of their favourite movies and series with exclusive X-Ray access. For more info visit www.amazon.co.uk/primevideo.

• • Pact is the UK screen sector trade body for independent production and distribution companies. Our mission is to help make the UK’s independent production sector the most successful in the world. Since 1991, our work has helped transform the sector from a cottage industry into a British success story which employs thousands of people and is worth billions to the UK economy.