Glenda Jackson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Laura Kuenssberg, Lesley Manville and Suranne Jones lead the nominations for this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild TV Awards, sponsored by Virgin Media. [Read more…]
Television nominations for this year’s BPG Awards revealed: Women’s roles and stories lead the shortlists
February 13, 2020 By Torin Douglas
BPG Awards 2019 Winners news release
March 15, 2019 By Torin Douglas
45th Television and Radio Awards Lunch
Friday March 15th 2019, Banking Hall
News release
EMBARGOED till 12 Noon Friday March 15th 2019
Hugh Grant, Jodie Comer, Nicholas Parsons and Lauren Laverne
are among the winners at the 45th Broadcasting Press Guild Awards
Two BBC TV dramas have each won three prizes at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by journalists who write about television and radio and sponsored by Virgin Media.
A Very English Scandal (BBC One), about the Jeremy Thorpe affair, has won the award for Best Single Drama/Mini Series and Hugh Grant, who played the former Liberal leader, was named Best Actor. Russell T Davies, who wrote the script from the book by John Preston, won the Best Writer award.
The glossy serial-killer drama Killing Eve (BBC America) has been voted Best Drama Series and its star Jodie Comer was named best actress. It also won the Best Online First/Streaming Award, having been shown as a BBC Three boxed set on BBC iPlayer, ahead of its transmission on BBC One.
The 45th BPG Awards lunch took place today at Banking Hall in the City of London, attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. (Full list of winners below). The BPG Awards – given only for work commissioned or produced in the UK – are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers.
Jake Kanter, BPG Chair, said: “These awards are now a 45-year-old institution, and we think they are the most democratic in the land. No tedious judging panels, no political lobbying, just a list of the best TV and radio shows of 2018, voted for by people whose job it is to write about TV and radio for a living. In fact, this year, we had a record number of votes, which is testament to the enduring qualities of the BPG and the brilliance of the output.
“Drama’s hot streak continued. We had killer antiheroes, political subterfuge, and dangerous trysts.
Elsewhere, five kids from Derry created history in Northern Ireland, two jokers went fishing and hooked an unexpected hit, and the retelling of one unthinkable murder shocked the nation all over again.”
Channel Four has won the award for Best Comedy with Derry Girls and BBC Two’s Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing was named Best Entertainment programme. The Netflix drama Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, created by Charlie Brooker, won the BPG Award for Innovation. Brooker was there to accept his award, as were Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse.
Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation (BBC One) was named Best Documentary Series and Grenfell (BBC Two) won the award for Best Single Documentary. Stephen Lawrence’s mother, Baroness Lawrence, and two members of Grenfell United, Karin Mussilhy and Kat Sladden collected their respective awards alongside the programme makers.
The Best of Multichannel Award, which goes to one of the non-PSB programmes shortlisted in the drama, documentaries, comedy and entertainment categories, went to the drama Patrick Melrose (Sky Atlantic).
Lauren Laverne was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year, for her work on BBC Radio 6 Music as well as Desert Island Discs and Late Night Woman’s Hour, both on BBC Radio 4.
The chair of the BPG radio jury, Julian Clover, said: “Our winner moves seamlessly between speech and music radio. She’s been tasked with presenting two of the big beasts of Radio 4… and, after presenting the mid morning show on BBC Radio 6 Music, her move to breakfast was described by one of our judges as a big step forward for the music content and a welcome step away from obligatory breakfast banter.”
The award for Radio Programme of the Year went to Tara and George, presented by Audrey Gillan (BBC Radio 4), which explores the lives of two people in their late forties who sleep rough in London. And the Podcast of the Year award went to Hip Hop Saved My Life with Romesh Ranganathan.
Among several special awards made by the BPG executive committee, sports presenter and football pundit Alex Scott won the Breakthrough Award for her work with BBC Sport and Sky Sports.
The BPG Chairman’s Award, chosen by this year’s BPG Chair Jake Kanter, recognised the impact of Big Brother on UK television. The citation said: “The reality TV behemoth gave rise to countless copycat formats and became a training ground for the industry’s top creatives, as well as making household names out of the likes of Dermot O’Leary & Davina McCall. It was a defining hit for Channel 4, gave a fresh lease of life to Channel 5 and proved its durability and value to producer EndemolShine Group.”
Nicholas Parsons CBE received the Harvey Lee Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, and attended the lunch with members of his family. As previously announced, the award recognises his seven decades of TV and radio entertainment, and in particular his contribution to one of the BBC’s longest-running programmes, Just A Minute on BBC Radio 4, which he has chaired for over 50 years.
Ends
All media and photography requests:
Olivia McKee, Virgin Media
T: 0333 000 2900
@VirginMediaCorp
For social media, please follow:
www.twitter.com/VirginMediaCorp
#BPGAwards
https://www.facebook.com/broadcastingpressguild/
Notes to editors
- The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than 150 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.
- The invitation-only event at the Banking Hall in the City of London was sponsored by Virgin Media and attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. Details of the nominations, previous BPG awards and Virgin Media can be found at http://broadcastingpressguild.org, together with pictures, videos and a history of the Guild.
- 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: http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee
- This year’s BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv
For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, please contact:
Torin Douglas, BPG torindouglas@aol.com or 07860 422992
The full list of BPG TV and Radio Awards winners is:
Best Single Drama/Mini-series
A Very English Scandal
A Blueprint Pictures production for the BBC and Amazon Studios
Best Drama Series
Killing Eve
A Sid Gentle Films Ltd production for BBC America, internationally distributed by Endeavor Content
Best Single Documentary
Grenfell
A Minnow Films production for BBC One
Best Documentary Series
Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation
An On the Corner production, in association with Rogan Productions, for BBC One
Best Entertainment
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
An Owl Power TV production for BBC Two
Best Online First/ Streaming
Killing Eve
A Sid Gentle Films Ltd production for BBC America, internationally distributed by Endeavor Content and first streamed in UK on BBC Three as a box set on BBC iPlayer
Best Comedy
Derry Girls
A Hat Trick Productions production for Channel 4
Best of Multichannel
Patrick Melrose
A Two Cities production in association with Sunnymarch and Little Island for Sky Atlantic and Showtime
Radio Broadcaster of the Year
Lauren Laverne
BBC Radio 6 Music, Late Night Woman’s Hour and Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4
Radio Programme of the Year
Tara and George
A Falling Tree Productions production for BBC Radio 4
Podcast of the Year
Hip Hop Saved My Life – Romesh Ranganathan
Ranga Bee Productions
Best Actor
Hugh Grant for A Very English Scandal (BBC One)
Best Actress
Jodie Comer for Killing Eve (BBC America)
Best Writer
Russell T Davies for A Very English Scandal (BBC One)
Innovation Award
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, for a ground-breaking form of storytelling.
A House of Tomorrow production for Netflix
Breakthrough Award
Alex Scott
Sports broadcaster for BBC and Sky
BPG Chairman’s Prize
Big Brother
EndemolShine Group for Channel 4 and Channel 5
Harvey Lee Award
Nicholas Parsons CBE
Actor, presenter & game show host, in particular, recognition of more than 50 years of presenting Radio 4’s Just A Minute.
Nicholas Parsons to be honoured by TV and radio writers at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards
March 13, 2019 By Torin Douglas
Radio and TV presenter, Nicholas Parsons CBE, who has entertained audiences for more than 70 years, is to be honoured later this week at the 45th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, sponsored by Virgin Media. The actor and gameshow host has presented Radio 4’s Just A Minute for over 50 years and hosted ITV’s Sale of the Century for 12 years.
On Friday 15 March, Parsons will receive the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting.
Nicholas Parsons began his career on radio in the 1940s, as an impersonator on the Carroll Levis Discoveries talent show. As an actor, he appeared on the West End stage, in repertory and in films. One of his first television appearances was in an episode of ITV’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, playing Sir Walter of the Glen. In the 1960s, he became known to millions of viewers as the straight man to comedian Arthur Haynes, a partnership which ran for ten years, including appearances at the London Palladium and on The Ed Sullivan Show. He later appeared regularly on The Benny Hill Show.
On December 22nd 1967, Nicholas Parsons hosted the first edition of Just A Minute on BBC Radio 4, a role he has carried out ever since, missing just one recording (when he had flu). In 1971, he also became host of the ITV gameshow Sale of the Century, which he presented for 12 years. Other broadcasting highlights have included appearances in The Comic Strip Presents (Channel 4), Doctor Who (BBC One) and hosting Have I Got News For You (BBC One).
The BPG’s chairman, Jake Kanter, said: “Our Harvey Lee award winner is being recognised for seven decades of TV and radio entertainment, and in particular his contribution to one of the BBC’s longest-running programmes. Panelists have come and gone, the gamesmanship and gags have evolved, but Nicholas Parsons remains in the hot seat at the centre of it all. His warmth, sharp wit, and clear-headed determinations in rooms full of fast-talking show offs have kept him at the top of his game.”
The BPG Awards are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by journalists who write about TV and radio – correspondents, critics and previewers. The awards lunch, at Banking Hall in the City of London on Friday, will be attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. www.broadcastingpressguild.org
For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, including a full list of winners over the past 45 years, and see pictures and videos from previous BPG awards ceremonies at:
http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/2014/03/25/history-of-the-broadcasting-press-guild
Notes to editors:
- The other award winners will be announced at the 45th BPG Awards lunch at Banking Hall in the City on Friday March 15th 2019. Winners have been informed in advance and places at the lunch are by invitation only. A full news release about the winners, embargoed till 12 noon on Friday, will be available.
- The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than a hundred 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.
- Harvey Lee (1950-1991) was the media correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and a leading light in the BPG throughout the 1980s. Previous winners of the BPG’s Harvey Lee Award, for an outstanding contribution to broadcasting, include Sir Lenny Henry, John Humphrys, John Lloyd, Sir Terry Wogan, Cilla Black, Melvyn Bragg, Andrew Davies, Sir David Frost, Michael Grade, Norma Percy, Biddy Baxter & Edward Barnes, Phil Redmond, Beryl Vertue, Tony Warren, Anne Wood and Charles Wheeler. See more details at http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee/.
- The 2019 BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv
Further information from Torin Douglas, BPG: torindouglas@aol.com or 07860 422992
Ed Miliband, Sir David Attenborough, Dame Hilary Mantel and Prue Leith among winners at the 44th Broadcasting Press Guild Awards
March 16, 2018 By Torin Douglas
The former Labour leader Ed Miliband has been recognised in a new role at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by journalists who write about TV and radio. His podcast with Geoff Lloyd, Reasons to be Cheerful, has been named as the BPG Podcast of the Year, a new award marking the growing influence of the latest audio formats.
A headline-grabbing interview with the current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during last year’s election campaign helped Emma Barnett win the prize for BPG Radio Broadcaster of the Year. Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Mr Corbyn forgot details of a major policy announcement.
And in a year when women featured strongly in the BPG awards, Dame Hilary Mantel’s series of BBC Reith Lectures became Radio Programme of the Year.
This year’s BPG television winners also included Sir David Attenborough, Claire Foy, Prue Leith, Mark Bonnar, Steve Coogan, Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones, Chris Packham and Jed Mercurio.
The 44th BPG awards lunch, sponsored by Virgin 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). 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.
Caroline Frost, BPG Chair, said: “These Awards are unique because they are the only ones voted for by people whose job it is to write about TV and radio for a living. After 44 years, our Guild continues to evolve in line with the ever-changing broadcasting landscape and this year we’ll be recognising for the first time our Podcast of the Year. In choosing our winners, we argue fiercely about what’s popular and what’s ambitious, what’s progressive and what’s truly original and we’ve honoured these requirements in our list of very worthy winners.
“It’s been an extraordinary year in entertainment, not just in the quality on-screen but in some of the controversies and scandals that have been uncovered away from it – and the British broadcasting industry has not gone un-marked. One thing we have to do today is give recognition to the BBC women, and all those who have put their heads above the parapet in pursuit of fair treatment, not just for themselves but for all women across the business.”
Claire Foy was named Best Actress for her role in the second series of The Crown (Netflix), which also won the award for Best Online First /Streaming production. It was revealed this week that she had been paid less for the series than her co-star Matt Smith.
Mark Bonnar was named Best Actor for a string of high-profile roles, including Unforgotten, Eric, Ernie and Me, Catastrophe and Apple Tree Yard. He can currently be seen in the latest series of Shetland on BBC One.
The edge-of-the-seat police series Line of Duty (BBC One) was named Best Drama Series, and its creator Jed Mercurio won the award for Best Writer. Three Girls, the three-part BBC One drama based on the true stories of victims of grooming and sexual abuse in Rochdale, was named Best Single Drama/Mini-series.
Blue Planet II (BBC One) was named Best Documentary Series and Chris Packham: Aspergers and Me (BBC Two) won the award for Best Single Documentary. Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham will both be attending the lunch to receive their awards.
The annual Harvey Lee Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting was given to the children’s television producers Biddy Baxter and Edward Barnes, in special recognition of Blue Peter, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The citation says: “For creating the ‘new’ Blue Peter in the early 1960s alongside the late Rosemary Gill. The involvement of its audience was ground-breaking, giving every child the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the programme, to become involved in charity fund-raising and win a coveted Blue Peter badge. Blue Peter unleashed the power and potential of children’s television and 60 years on has created some of its most memorable moments.”
The BPG Award for Innovation went to Channel 4 for its latest advances in championing diversity both on and off screen. These include initiatives such as Spotlight on Directors and diversity throughout its commissioning – in programmes such as Ackley Bridge, The Last Leg and its 50 Shades of Gay season – and in its advertising. The citation says: “Channel 4 has built on its pioneering Paralympics coverage to embrace the wider community and has demonstrated a first-in-class commitment to its public service broadcasting remit”. The award will be accepted by Channel Four’s chief executive Alex Mahon.
Channel Four also won the award for Best Entertainment/Factual Entertainment category, with its first series of The Great British Bake Off, which it controversially lured from BBC One. Judge Prue Leith will attend the lunch to receive the award. Detectorists (BBC Four) was named Best Comedy and its writer-performer Mackenzie Crook will pick up the award with his co-star Toby Jones.
The Trip to Spain (Sky Atlantic), featuring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on the latest stage of their culinary travels, won the award for Best Multichannel (non-PSB) programme. Its writer-director, the renowned British film maker Michael Winterbottom, will receive the award.
The BBC Reith Lectures 2017, given by the double Booker Prize winner Dame Hilary Mantel, exploring the challenges and legitimacy of historical fiction, won the award for BPG Radio Programme of the Year. The award will be collected by Sue Lawley, who presents the series.
The other two audio awards, for Radio Broadcaster of the Year and Podcast of the Year, celebrated the discussion of politics, and will be received at the lunch by Emma Barnett, Ed Miliband and his co-presenter Geoff Lloyd.
Torin Douglas, chair of the radio jury, said: “Emma Barnett, our Radio Broadcaster of the Year, hit the headlines during and after the general election campaign, when she interviewed Jeremy Corbyn and Teresa May and coaxed memorable reactions from both of them. The Labour leader’s inability to answer her questions on a major policy announcement was widely labelled a ‘car crash’ and the Prime Minister’s admission that ‘she shed a little tear’ after she heard the exit poll result was also picked up by every newspaper.
“Ed Miliband, who with Geoff Lloyd won the BPG’s first Podcast of the Year award, has found a new role since stepping down as Labour leader. After standing in for Jeremy Vine on Radio 2, where he segued brilliantly from flushing toilets to the universal basic income, he now presents a ‘podcast about ideas’ which one of our judges said was like listening to the Today programme without the egos running rampant over the interviewees”.
All media and photography requests:
Olivia McKee, Virgin Media
T: 0333 000 2900
@VirginMediaCorp
For social media, please follow:
www.twitter.com/VirginMediaCorp
#BPGAwards
https://www.facebook.com/broadcastingpressguild/
Notes to editors
- 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.
- The invitation-only event in the Grand Saloon of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is sponsored by Virgin TV and attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. Details of the nominations, previous BPG awards and Virgin TV can be found at http://broadcastingpressguild.org, together with pictures, videos and a history of the Guild.
- 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: http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee/
- This year’s BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin TV. Virgin TV is part of Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv
For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, please contact:
Torin Douglas, BPG torindouglas@aol.com or 07860 422992
The full list of BPG TV and Radio Awards winners is:
Best Single Drama/Mini-series
Three Girls
A BBC Studios in association with Studio Lambert production for BBC One
Best Drama Series
Line of Duty
Produced by World Productions for BBC One
Best Single Documentary
Chris Packham: Asperger’s and Me
A Raw TV production for BBC Two
Best Documentary Series
Blue Planet II
A co-production of BBC Worldwide, WDR, BBC America, Tencent, The Open University, France Televisions & CCTV9 made by BBC Studios, Natural History Unit for BBC One
Best Entertainment
The Great British Bake Off
A Love Productions production for Channel 4
Best Digital First Streaming
The Crown
A Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures TV Company production for Netflix
Best Comedy
Detectorists
A Channel X North, Treasure Trove Productions & Lola Entertainment production for BBC Four
Best Multichannel Programme
The Trip to Spain
A Revolution Films, Baby Cow, Small Man Production for Sky Atlantic
Radio Broadcaster of the Year
Emma Barnett
The Emma Barnett Show, BBC Radio 5 Live, and Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4
Radio Programme of the Year
BBC Reith Lectures 2017: Hilary Mantel
A BBC Radio Current Affairs production for BBC Radio 4
Podcast of the Year
Reasons to be Cheerful
A Cheerful Thinking production
Best Actor
Mark Bonnar for Eric, Ernie and Me (BBC Four), Apple Tree Yard (BBC One), Catastrophe (Channel 4), Unforgotten (ITV)
Best Actress
Claire Foy for The Crown (Netflix)
Best Writer
Jed Mercurio for Line of Duty (BBC One)
Innovation Award
Channel 4 for new advances in championing diversity, including initiatives such as Spotlight on Directors and diversity throughout its commissioning and in its advertising.
Harvey Lee Award
Biddy Baxter & Edward Barnes, children’s television producers, in special recognition of Blue Peter.
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2018 – Television nominations
February 15, 2018 By Torin Douglas
Quirky comedies Detectorists and Inside No. 9 go head to head in the shortlists for this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) Awards, chosen by esteemed TV and radio journalists. Both series have been nominated as Best Comedy with writer-performers Mackenzie Crook (Detectorists, BBC Four), Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9, BBC Two) also shortlisted for the Best Writer award. They are joined on the shortlist by Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty) and Peter Morgan (The Crown).
The BPG Awards – which are for work commissioned in the UK and screened in 2017 – are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers. The 44th annual BPG awards, sponsored by Virgin TV, will be held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 16th 2018.
Stunning performances from Hayley Atwell (Howard’s End, BBC One), Claire Foy (The Crown), Thandie Newton (Line of Duty, BBC One), Maxine Peake (Three Girls, BBC One) and Emily Watson (Apple Tree Yard, Little Women, BBC One) see these leading ladies competing for the prestigious Best Actress award.
Detectorists also sees a Best Actor nomination for Toby Jones, who’ll be competing with Sean Bean (Broken, BBC One), Babou Ceesay (Guerrilla, Sky Atlantic), Matt Smith (The Crown, Netflix), and Mark Bonnar, who is nominated for four performances in Unforgotten (ITV), Eric, Ernie and Me (BBC Four), Apple Tree Yard (BBC One) and Catastrophe (Channel 4).
Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders (both BBC Two), The State (C4) and Tin Star (Sky Atlantic) are shortlisted for best TV drama series. Eric, Ernie and Me, Little Women and Three Girls will compete with Sky 1’s Delicious 2 for the Best Single Drama/Mini-series award.
Two BBC Two documentaries – Chris Packham: Aspergers and Me and Sgt Pepper’s Musical Revolution – have been nominated as Best Single Documentary, alongside Idris Elba: Fighter (Discovery) and Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds (Channel 4).
Blue Planet II (BBC One), Hospital (BBC Two), Rock and Roll (Sky Arts) and Trump: An American Dream (Channel 4) are shortlisted for Best Documentary Series.
In the Best Entertainment/Factual Entertainment category, three previous winners – The Great British Bake Off (now on Channel Four), The Graham Norton Show and Strictly Come Dancing (both BBC One) – will be competing with Taskmaster (Dave). The Best Comedy award will be contested by Detectorists (BBC Four), Inside No. 9 (BBC Two), Peter Kay’s Car Share (BBC iPlayer, BBC One) and The Trip to Spain (Sky Atlantic).
The BPG is again recognising the growing importance of programmes commissioned for streaming or showing online first, instead of on a broadcast channel, with The Best Online First/Streaming award.This year it will be contested by The Crown and Black Mirror (both Netflix), End of the F***ing World (ALL4, Channel 4) and People Just Do Nothing (BBC Three).
The Best of Multichannel (non-PSB) Award will go to one of the four non-PSB programmes shortlisted in drama, documentaries, comedy and entertainment.
The nominations for the annual BPG award for innovation in broadcasting are: Albert – the free online tool for calculating a production’s carbon footprint; BBC Three – for showcasing new comedy talent; and Channel 4 – for recent innovations in championing diversity both on and off screen.
The 44th annual BPG awards, sponsored by Virgin TV, will be presented at an awards lunch held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 16th 2018. The event will be attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. The Company said: “Virgin TV is delighted to be sponsoring the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2018. Together we’re celebrating the TV people love.” For more information about Virgin TV visit www.virginmedia.com/tv
Further information from Torin Douglas, BPG, 07860 422992
Notes to editors:
- The winners will be announced at the 44th BPG Awards lunch in the beautifully restored Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 16th 2018, sponsored by Virgin TV. The Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting, which is in the gift of the BPG Executive Committee, will also be presented. Winners will be informed in advance and places at the lunch are by invitation only.
- Virgin TV is part of Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, connecting over 22 million customers through operations in 12 countries across Europe. www.virginmedia.com/tv
- The shortlists for Radio Broadcaster of the Year and Radio Programme of the Year will be announced in a week’s time.
- The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than a hundred 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.
- Previous BPG Best Actress winners include Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Redgrave, Maxine Peake, Anne-Marie Duff, Dame Diana Rigg, Zoe Wanamaker, Gina McKee, Dame Julie Walters, Olivia Colman, Sheridan Smith, Keeley Hawes and Juliet Stevenson.
- The BPG Best Actor award has previously been awarded to Sir Mark Rylance, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Colin Firth, Sir Alec Guinness, Albert Finney, Charles Dance, Robert Hardy, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Ecclestone, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones, Robbie Coltrane and Dominic West among others (see more details and photos at http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/).
The full list of nominations is:
Best Single Drama /Mini-series
Delicious 2 (Sky 1)
Eric, Ernie and Me (BBC Four)
Little Women (BBC One)
Three Girls (BBC One)
Best Drama Series
Line of Duty (BBC One)
Peaky Blinders (BBC Two)
The State (Channel 4)
Tin Star (Sky Atlantic)
Best Single Documentary/Mini-series
Chris Packham: Aspergers and Me (BBC Two)
Idris Elba: Fighter (Discovery)
Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds (Channel 4)
Sgt Pepper’s Musical Revolution (BBC Two)
Best Documentary Series
Blue Planet II (BBC One)
Hospital (BBC Two)
Rock and Roll (Sky Arts)
Trump: An American Dream (Channel 4)
Best Online First /Streaming
Black Mirror (Netflix)
End of the F***ing World (All 4, Channel 4)
People Just Do Nothing (BBC Three)
The Crown (Netflix)
Best Comedy
Detectorists (BBC Four)
Inside No. 9 (BBC Two)
Peter Kay’s Car Share (BBC iPlayer, BBC One)
The Trip To Spain (Sky Atlantic)
Best Entertainment/Factual
The Great British Bake-Off (Channel 4)
Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One)
Taskmaster (Dave)
The Graham Norton Show (BBC One)
Best of Multichannel
Rock and Roll (Sky Arts)
Taskmaster (Dave)
Tin Star (Sky Atlantic)
The Trip to Spain (Sky Atlantic)
Best Actress
Hayley Atwell, Howard’s End
Claire Foy, The Crown
Thandie Newton, Line of Duty
Maxine Peake, Three Girls
Emily Watson, Little Women/Apple Tree Yard
Best Actor
Sean Bean, Broken
Mark Bonnar, Unforgotten/Eric, Ernie and Me/Catastrophe/Apple Tree Yard
Babou Ceesay, Guerrilla
Toby Jones, Detectorists
Matt Smith, The Crown
Writer’s Award
Mackenzie Crook, Detectorists
Jed Mercurio, Line of Duty
Peter Morgan, The Crown
Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton, Inside No 9
BPG Innovation in Broadcasting
Albert – the free online tool for calculating a production’s carbon footprint
BBC Three – for showcasing new comedy talent
Channel 4 – for new advances in championing diversity both on and off screen
Further information from Torin Douglas, BPG, 07860 422992
The Night Manager, The Crown, Planet Earth II and Desert Island Discs take top prizes at 43rd Broadcasting Press Guild Awards
March 17, 2017 By Torin Douglas
Keeley Hawes, Robbie Coltrane, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and James O’Brien win individual awards
After a great year for TV drama, The Night Manager, The Crown, National Treasure, The Witness for The Prosecution, Line of Duty, The Durrells and The Missing have all been recognised at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by journalists who write about TV and radio.
Caroline Frost, BPG Chair, said: “In a year where drama continued to electrify and surprise TV audiences, and prove itself still capable of water-cooler moments, there was huge competition for all of our drama awards.”
The 43rd BPG awards lunch, sponsored by Virgin 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)
Keeley Hawes was named Best Actress for her roles in three hit drama series – Line of Duty (BBC Two), The Durrells (ITV) and The Missing (BBC One). She will receive her award at today’s lunch.
Caroline Frost said “She is someone who, through her diverse choice of roles, her knack of picking scripts that become must-see TV drama for huge audiences and her willingness to bring vulnerability as well as power to screen, continues to surprise and delight us with every fresh project.”
The Night Manager (BBC One) was named Best Drama Series, and two of its stars, Hugh Laurie and Tom Hollander, will receive the award. The Crown (Netflix) won the award for Best Online First/Streaming and the Agatha Christie play The Witness for the Prosecution (BBC One) was named Best Single Drama. Robbie Coltrane was named Best Actor for National Treasure (Channel 4).
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, actress and writer of the comedy series Fleabag (BBC Three, then BBC Two) was named Best Writer, and will attend the lunch. Mum (BBC Two) won the award for Best Comedy and its star Lesley Manville will receive the award.
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.
Planet Earth II (BBC One) was named Best Documentary Series and Hillsborough (BBC Two) won the award for Best Single Documentary. The annual BPG Award for Innovation went to Exodus: Our Journey in Europe (BBC Two) for the innovative use of mobile phones and crowd-sourced content to tell a compelling story.
The award for Best Entertainment programme went to BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show, and Alan Partridge: Mid Morning Matters (Sky Atlantic) won the award for Best Multichannel (non-PSB) programme.
In its 75th anniversary year, Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, presented by Kirsty Young, was named Radio Programme of the Year.
Maisie McCabe, chair of the radio jury, said “Even by its high standards, 2016 was a particularly strong year for Desert Island Discs. Guests included the CEO of Lloyd’s of London talking about her sexuality, Bruce Springsteen reminiscing about hearing The Beatles for the first time and Bill Gates on Steve Jobs. And all stewarded by a supremely talented broadcaster, who knows what questions to ask and when to let her guests speak.”
LBC’s James O’Brien was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year.
Maisie McCabe said: “In a year that seemed to bring us at least a decade’s worth of major news events, James spoke honestly and compassionately about the major issues of the day, not only providing brilliant live radio for his listeners, but reaching a whole new audience online, as people shared his remarks and debated them on social media.”
The Harvey Lee award for an Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, which is in the gift of the BPG executive committee, has gone to the documentary filmmaker and producer Norma Percy. She has persuaded a who’s who of world leaders to be interviewed for revelatory series such as The Death of Yugoslavia, The Second Russian Revolution and Inside Obama’s White House. She has been responsible, with Brian Lapping, for many other award-winning documentaries made by Brook Lapping, including The Iraq War, Putin, Russia & The West, Iran & The West, The Fall of Milosevic, Endgame in Ireland, and Elusive Peace: Israel & The Arabs.
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Notes to editors
- 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.
- The invitation-only event in the Grand Saloon of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is sponsored by Virgin TV and attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. Details of the nominations, previous BPG awards and Virgin TV can be found at http://broadcastingpressguild.org, together with pictures, videos and a history of the Guild.
- 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: http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee/
- This year’s BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin TV. Virgin TV is part of Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv
For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, please contact:
Torin Douglas, BPG torindouglas@aol.com or 07860 422992
The full list of BPG TV and Radio Awards winners is:
Best Single Drama
The Witness for the Prosecution
A Mammoth Screen & Agatha Christie Productions production for BBC One, in association with A+E Networks & RLJ Entertainment
Best Drama Series
The Night Manager
Produced by The Ink Factory, Demarest Films & Character 7 for BBC One in co-production with AMC.
Best Single Documentary
Hillsborough
A VeryMuchSo & Passion Pictures production for BBC Two
Best Documentary Series
Planet Earth II
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit Production, co-produced with BBC America, ZDF, Tencent & France Television for BBC One
Best Entertainment
The Graham Norton Show
A So Television production for BBC One
Best Online First/Streaming
The Crown
Produced by Left Bank Pictures, a Sony Pictures TV Company, for Netflix
Best Comedy
Mum
A Big Talk Production in association with The Money Men for BBC Two
Radio Broadcaster of the Year
James O’Brien
A Global production for LBC
Radio Programme of the Year
Desert Island Discs, presented by Kirsty Young
A BBC Factual Radio Production for BBC Radio 4
Best Actor
Robbie Coltrane for National Treasure (Channel 4)
Best Actress
Keeley Hawes – for Line of Duty (BBC Two), The Durrells (ITV) and The Missing (BBC One)
Best Writer
Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag
A Two Brothers Pictures Production for BBC Three
Innovation Award
Exodus: Our Journey to Europe
For innovative use of crowd-sourced content & camera phones, including first-person points of view from refugees themselves to tell a compelling story about the migrant crisis
A Keo Films production for BBC Two
Harvey Lee Award
Norma Percy, Brook Lapping
Filmmaker Norma Percy to be honoured by TV and radio writers
March 15, 2017 By Torin Douglas
The documentary filmmaker and producer Norma Percy, who has persuaded a who’s who of world leaders to be interviewed for revelatory series such as The Death of Yugoslavia, The Second Russian Revolution and Inside Obama’s White House, is to be honoured later this week by journalists who write about broadcasting for a living. [Read more…]
BPG Awards 2017 – Radio nominations
February 23, 2017 By Torin Douglas
BBC news presenters Jeremy Vine, Martha Kearney and Eddie Mair have been shortlisted with LBC’s James O’Brien for the title BPG Radio Broadcaster of the Year at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, chosen by journalists who write about TV and radio.
And Eddie Mair’s PM programme will compete with Desert Island Discs, In Our Time and Today for BPG Radio Programme of the Year. The 43rd annual BPG awards, sponsored by Virgin TV, will be presented next month at a lunch in central London.
The nominations for BPG Radio Broadcaster of the Year are:
– Martha Kearney – The World at One, BBC Radio 4 – weekdays, 1pm to 1.45pm
– Eddie Mair – PM, BBC Radio 4 – weekdays, 5pm to 6pm
– Jeremy Vine – BBC Radio 2, weekdays 12 Noon to 2pm
– James O’Brien – LBC, weekdays, 10am to 1pm
The nominations for BPG Radio Programme of the Year are:
– Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4
– In Our Time, BBC Radio 4
– PM, BBC Radio 4
– Today, BBC Radio 4
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.
Previous winners of the BPG Radio Broadcaster award include Alistair Cook, Sir Terry Wogan, Jane Garvey, Nick Ferrari, Eddie Mair, John Finnemore, Sue Lawley, Jonathan Ross, Evan Davis, Charlotte Green, Simon Mayo, Sean Rafferty, Kirsty Young, Brian Redhead, Mark Tully, Sandy Toksvig, Michael Buerk, Susannah Simons and Graham Seed (Nigel Pargetter).
The Awards lunch, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 17th 2017, will be sponsored for the first time by Virgin TV. The event will be attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives.
Further information from Torin Douglas, BPG, 07860 422992
Notes to editors:
- The winners will be announced at the 43rd BPG Awards lunch in the beautifully restored Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 17th 2017, sponsored by Virgin TV. The Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting, which is in the gift of the BPG Executive Committee, will be presented as well. Winners will be informed in advance and places at the lunch are by invitation only.
- Virgin TV is part of Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv
- The television nominations for this year’s BPG Awards were announced on February 16th 2017. http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/2017/02/broadcasting-press-guild-awards-2017-television-nominations/
- The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than a hundred 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.
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2017 – Television nominations
February 16, 2017 By Torin Douglas
The Netflix drama series The Crown leads the nominations at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, chosen by journalists who write about TV and radio. Its stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith, who play Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, have been nominated in the acting categories, Peter Morgan is shortlisted for best writer, and the series is nominated as the best ‘online first or streaming’ programme. [Read more…]
BPG Awards 2016 – Radio nominations
February 18, 2016 By Torin Douglas
Danny Baker, Lauren Laverne, Test Match Special and The Archers are among the top radio presenters and programmes shortlisted for this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, chosen by journalists who write about TV and radio. [Read more…]
