BAFTA has named EastEnders as the recipient of this year’s BAFTA Television Craft Special Award, one of its highest honours.
The Award marks EastEnders’ 40 years on screen and will honour the show’s commitment to nurturing new talent through their production process.
The show has a rich history of identifying and investing in new talent through a variety of trainee schemes. Many have gone on to become leading behind the camera talents in the UK and international film and television industry.
Previous names that have worked on EastEnders include director, Tom Hooper, who has since gone on to win a plethora of awards including an Academy Award for his work on The King’s Speech; BAFTA-winning writer Sarah Phelps (The Sixth Commandment), Executive Producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins (2013 – 2016) who has since gone on to produce hit shows including Rivals and A Very English Scandal, and Sumerah Srivastav who worked her way up to writer from researcher at EastEnders, with recent notable credits including Missing You, Manifest and Lupin.
Since 2015, EastEnders has also participated in the BBC’s Continuing New Directors’ Training Scheme, and in 2021 it partnered with Directors UK on the Diversity Director Training Scheme. In the past year, it has also launched three new talent schemes: the Writers Studio, Ascend Acting Workshops and the Multi-Camera Directing Course.
EastEnders offered further opportunities through its spin-off EastEnders: E20 (2010) with credits including future BAFTA-winning writer Nicôle Lecky, writer and actress Emer Kenny, and actor Tosin Cole (Doctor Who, Supercel), all of whom worked on the show at the beginning of their careers.
EastEnders was the first programme to test a carbon calculator to measure a production's carbon footprint. Its pioneering role in sustainability is one of the inspirations behind the name of BAFTA albert's carbon footprint calculator, named after EastEnders' Albert Square.
The BAFTA Special Award will be presented to EastEnders during the BAFTA Television Craft Awards ceremony on Sunday 27 April.
Charlotte Moore, Outgoing Chief Content Officer at BBC, said: “We are thrilled that BAFTA has awarded EastEnders with the Television Craft Special Award. It’s a testament to all those working behind the scenes who produce a continuing drama that has entertained the nation for over 40 years. The show has nurtured, trained, and produced some of the best talent within the industry, with many still working there, and, as an industry, we should be very grateful for what the show produces both on and off screen.”
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