• RTS crowns 2020 Programme Award winners in behind closed doors ceremony
  • RTS chair: “To acknowledge the incredible contribution of all our nominees to the UK’s television output and celebrate our deserving winners”
  • Jane Featherstone wins annual Judges’ Award

rts awards

RTS Awards: Paul Merton announces winners behind closed doors

Source: RTS

The annual Royal Television Society’s Programme Awards for 2020 were held behind closed doors last night in London with Tamara Lawrance and Stephen Graham taking home the leading actor awards.

The RTS Programme Awards seek to recognise UK productions and, where appropriate, international co-productions which, between 1 November 2018 and 31 October 2019, have made a positive contribution worthy of acclaim by the industry and UK viewers.

The awards were announced by writer and comedian Paul Merton and were live streamed to nominees and viewers via the RTS website and its YouTube channel. RTS chose to hold the awards behind closed doors due to the coronavirus crisis.

RTS Programme Awards chair Wayne Garvie said: “We are all facing an incredibly difficult time and rightfully have made responsible changes to the format of the RTS Programme Awards.

“Despite this, we would like to acknowledge the incredible contribution of all our nominees to the UK’s television output and celebrate our deserving winners.

“This is my last year in the role of chair of the RTS Programme Awards and throughout my tenure I have been proud to witness the outstanding talent in the UK and have been repeatedly inspired by the creativity across our industry.”

Among the winners of the night included stars from Derry Girls, Sex Education, Gentleman Jack and Stormzy at Glastonbury 2019, with Fleabag, The Young Offenders, Ackley Bridge and The Brit Awards 2019 nominated across comedy performances, drama series and live event.

The winner of the RTS Channel of the Year went to Channel 5, with judges recognising the channel’s growth and investment in content.

Judges said: “A confident broadcaster reaping the rewards of years of steady growth and development – a channel that increasingly now both surprises and delights.”

The runners up were BBC Three and Sky Atlantic.

Alex Scott was crowed the Sports presenter, commentator or pundit for the coverage of 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup for Gravity Media and BBC Sport for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer.

Judges said: “A former player willing to draw on immense knowledge of the game to bring confident, concise analysis in a refreshing, inspiring way.”

While the Judges’ Award went to Sister Pictures founder and chief executive Jane Featherstone who is a producer of drama series and was commended for her work over the last twelve months. Previously she worked as chief executive and chair of Shine UK.

Judges said: “It is, by any measure, an exceptional slate of extraordinary work, all in a single year. Drama of the very highest quality, produced with passion and flair by one of the stand-out stars of British television production.”

The full list of RTS 2020 Programme Awards winners: 

Actor (Female)

  • WINNER – Tamara Lawrance - The Long Song (Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One) “Captivating and full of humanity, conveying an almost unimaginable strength in the darkest of moments”
  • Niamh Algar - The Virtues (Warp Films and Big Arty Productions for Channel 4)
  • Suranne Jones - Gentleman Jack (A Lookout Point Production in association with HBO for BBC One)

Actor (Male)

  • WINNER - Stephen Graham - The Virtues (Warp Films and Big Arty Productions for Channel 4) “Utterly mesmerising and steeped in a real rawness – we were seeing an actor discovering new places to go emotionally in his work”
  • Jared Harris – Chernobyl (Sister, The Mighty Mint and Word Games in association with HBO for Sky Atlantic)
  • Micheal Ward - Top Boy (Cowboy Films, Easter Partisan Films, Dream Crew and SpringHill Entertainment for Netflix)

Arts

  • WINNER – Bros: After The Screaming Stops (Fulwell 73 for BBC Four) “Remarkable access, and a masterful study in the tensions and triumphs of the creative process that was - at times - brutally honest, but ultimately moving”
  • imagine…James Graham: In the Room Where It Happens (BBC Studios for BBC One)
  • Superkids: Breaking Away From Care (Expectation for Channel 4)

Breakthrough Award

  • WINNER – Tanya Moodie – Motherland (Merman Television and Delightful Industries for BBC Two) “Genuinely, a star in the making”
  • Aisling Bea - This Way Up (Merman Television for Channel 4)
  • Tim Renkow – Jerk (Roughcut TV and Primal Media for BBC Three)

Children’s Programme

  • WINNER – Zog (Magic Light Pictures for BBC One) “This felt special, a real piece of inclusive quality television full of positive messages and warmth.”
  • The Athena (Bryncoed Productions for Sky Kids)
  • Step Up to the Plate (Lion TV for CBBC)

Comedy Performance (Female)

  • WINNER – Saoirse-Monica Jackson - Derry Girls (Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4) “A truly stand-out performance in a brilliantly funny series, she confidently commits to the character despite the craziness of the world she inhabits”
  • Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Fleabag (Two Brothers Pictures in association with All3Media International for BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video)
  • Diane Morgan – Motherland (Merman Television and Delightful Industries for BBC Two)

Comedy Performance (Male)

  • WINNER – Ncuti Gatwa - Sex Education (Eleven Film for Netflix) “Perfectly balanced, combining slapstick and big comic set pieces with moments of tender emotion and great heart in a truly wonderful series”
  • Alex Murphy & Chris Walley - The Young Offenders (Vico Films and Rotator for BBC Three)
  • Youssef Kerkour – Home (Jantaculum and Channel X for Channel 4)

Daytime Programme

  • WINNER – The Repair Shop (Ricochet for BBC One) “The passion pours through the screen. Produced with great confidence and real commitment, it’s a show that feels just right for today’s audience”.
  • Good Morning Britain (ITV Studios Daytime for ITV)
  • Beat the Chef (Twofour and Motion Content Group for Channel 4)

Documentary Series 

  • WINNER – The Choir: Our School By The Tower (Twenty Twenty Productions for BBC Two) “A genuine insight into lives that we rarely see captured so vividly and so carefully on television”.
  • Hometown: A Killing (7 Wonder for BBC Three)
  • Crime and Punishment (72 Films for Channel 4)

Drama Series

  • WINNER – Gentleman Jack (A Lookout Point Production in association with HBO for BBC One) “Sharply written, beautifully acted and directed, and all built around relationships which genuinely caught the audience’s imagination”
  • The Capture (Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One)
  • Ackley Bridge (The Forge Entertainment for Channel 4)

Entertainment

  • WINNER – RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (World of Wonder Productions for BBC Three) “In its own unique way, it said something rather unexpected and fun about being British, as well as being full of warmth and laughs”.
  • Love Island (ITV Studios Entertainment/Motion Content Group for ITV2)
  • Britain’s Got Talent (Thames/Syco for ITV)

Entertainment Performance

  • WINNER – London Hughes - Don’t Hate The Playaz (Monkey Kingdom for ITV2) “Authentic, witty, and with an infectious personality”.
  • Mo Gilligan - The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan (Expectation and Momo G for Channel 4)
  • Stephen Mulhern - In For A Penny (ITV Studios Entertainment/Mitre Television for ITV)
  • WINNER – The British Tribe Next Door (Voltage & Motion Content Group for Channel 4) “Genuinely innovative, bravely breaking new ground as a format, an idea realised and executed impeccably well”
  • The Circle (Studio Lambert & Motion Content Group for Channel 4)
  • Celebrity Gogglebox (Studio Lambert for Channel 4)

History

  • WINNER – Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain (Blast! Films for Channel 4) “A provocative, highly revealing piece of work full of many challenging questions still to be answered”
  • Spotlight on The Troubles: A Secret History (BBC NI for BBC Four and BBC One Northern Ireland)
  • The Last Survivors (Minnow Films for BBC Two) 

Live Event

  • WINNER – Stormzy At Glastonbury 2019 (BBC Studios for BBC Two) “This transcended the event to become a significant national moment, as well as an outstanding television spectacle”
  • The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance (BBC Studios for BBC One)
  • The BRIT Awards 2019 (BRITs TV for ITV)

Mini-Series 

  • WINNER – The Long Song (Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One) “An extraordinary achievement in storytelling and a stand-out piece of important television”
  • Chernobyl (Sister, The Mighty Mint and Word Games in association with HBO for Sky Atlantic)
  • Years and Years (Red Production Company for BBC One) 

Presenter 

  • WINNER – Mobeen Azhar - Hometown: A Killing (7 Wonder for BBC Three) “A uniquely engaging and compelling presence on screen”
  • Vicky McClure - Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure (Curve Media co-produced with The Open University for BBC One)
  • Fred Brathwaite - A Fresh Guide to Florence with Fab 5 Freddy (BBC Studios for BBC Two) 

RTS Channel of the Year

  • WINNER – Channel 5 “A confident broadcaster reaping the rewards of years of steady growth and development – a channel that increasingly now both surprises and delights”
  • BBC Three
  • Sky Atlantic 

Science and Natural History

  • WINNER – The Parkinson’s Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure? (Passionate Productions for BBC Two) “Produced with immense care over a long period, it was informative, packed with drama and emotion”.
  • The Planets (A BBC Studios Production with NOVA and WGBH Boston for BBC, PBS coproduced by Tencent Penguin Pictures. A BBC Open University Partnership for BBC Two)
  • 8 Days: To the Moon and Back (BBC Studios, PBS & The Open University, The Science Unit for BBC Two) 

Scripted Comedy

  • WINNER – Fleabag (Two Brothers Pictures in association with All3Media International for BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video) “Beautifully accomplished, supremely well written and performed”
  • Stath Lets Flats (Roughcut TV for Channel 4)
  • Derry Girls (Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4) 

Single Documentary

  • WINNER – War in the Blood (Minnow Films for BBC Two) “A consummate piece of work…subtle and unsensational, immaculately balanced but uncompromising”
  • Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag (Hardcash Productions for ITV)
  • David Harewood: Psychosis and Me (Films of Record co-produced with The Open University for BBC Two) 

Single Drama

  • WINNER – The Left Behind (BBC Studios for BBC Three and BBC Cymru Wales) A smart piece that shone a light on the real state of the nation, telling multi-layered stories in an emotional and nuanced way”
  • Brexit: The Uncivil War (House Productions in association with HBO for Channel 4)
  • Doing Money (Renegade Pictures for BBC Two) 

Soap and Continuing Drama

  • WINNER – Casualty (BBC Studios for BBC One) “Excellent central dramatic performances combined with an authentic and gripping story”
  • EastEnders (BBC Studios for BBC One)
  • Coronation Street (ITV Studios for ITV)

Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit 

  • WINNER – Alex Scott 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup (Input Media [now known as Gravity Media] and BBC Sport for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer) “A former player willing to draw on immense knowledge of the game to bring confident, concise analysis in a refreshing, inspiring way”.
  • Nasser Hussain - The Ashes (Sky Sports for Sky Sports Cricket)
  • Gareth Thomas - 2019 Rugby World Cup (BBC Sport for BBC One)

Sports Programme

  • WINNER – ICC Cricket World Cup Final (Sky Sports & Sunset+Vine for ICC TV and Sky Sports Cricket) “A spectacular and extraordinary moment in sporting history, captured brilliantly by a production team clearly right at the top of their own game”
  • 2019 Rugby World Cup (ITV Sport for ITV)
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 – Semi Final: England v USA (Input Media [now known as Gravity Media] and BBC Sport for BBC One)

Writer (Comedy)

  • WINNER – Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Fleabag (Two Brothers Pictures in association with All3Media International for BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video) “A truly stand-out performance in a brilliantly funny series, she confidently commits to the character despite the craziness of the world she inhabits”
  • Laurie Nunn - Sex Education (Eleven Film for Netflix)
  • Danny Brocklehurst - Brassic (Calamity Films for Sky One)

Writer (Drama)

  • WINNER – Craig Mazin - Chernobyl (Sister, The Mighty Mint and Word Games in association with HBO for Sky Atlantic) “It was a complex story told with a compulsive narrative shape – profound and affecting. The writer unflinchingly presented prescient and relevant themes”
  • Roy Williams - Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle (A Douglas Road and Young Vic Production for BBC Four)
  • Neil Forsyth - Guilt (Happy Tramp North and Expectation for BBC Scotland and BBC Two)

Judges’ Award

  • Jane Featherstone (Founder and Chief Executive, Sister Pictures) The recipient of this prestigious honour is a Producer of drama who – over the last twelve months in particular – has shown that her time has truly come.

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