After a strong 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.
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.
The Night Manager (BBC One) was named Best Drama Series. 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).
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.”
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, actress and writer of the comedy series Fleabag (BBC Three, then BBC Two) was named Best Writer.
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.
The Harvey Lee award for an Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, which is in the gift of the BPG executive committee, went to the documentary filmmaker and producer Norma Percy, whose credits include The Death of Yugoslavia, The Second Russian Revolution and Inside Obama’s White House.
The 43rd BPG awards lunch, sponsored by Virgin TV, took place at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives.
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
Staff Reporter
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