Nominations Announced For Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2020

The list of nominees for the 2020 Royal Television Society Programme Awards (RTS) was announced this morning by BBC journalist, writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed at h Club in London’s vibrant Covent Garden.

Channel 4 drama The Virtues is recognised in both the Actor (Female) with Niamh Algar and Actor (Male) with Stephen Graham cateogries, with Suranne Jones also nominated in the Actor (Female) category for her portrayal of Anne Lister in BBC One’s Gentleman Jack – which also receives a nomination for Drama Series alongside The Capture and Ackley Bridge. Also nominated in the Actor (Female) category is Tamara Lawrance for BBC One’s The Long Song.

Michael Ward steals an Actor (Male) nomination for Netflix’s Top Boy, with a nomination also going to Jared Harris for the popular Sky Atlantic series Chernobyl – a dramatisation of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Chernobyl is also recognised in the Mini-Series category.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s BBC comedy Fleabag goes head to head with Channel 4’s Derry Girls, both of which have secured nominations in the Scripted Comedy and Comedy Performance (Female) categories. Phoebe has also received a nomination for Writer – Comedy, alongside Danny Brocklehurst for Brassic and Sex Education’s Laurie Nunn. Ncuti Gatwa has also been recognised for Comedy Performance (Male) in Netflix hit Sex Education.

Last year’s winner The Repair Shop for BBC One once again is in the running for Daytime Programme, alongside Good Morning Britain and Beat The Chef; whilst The BRIT Awards 2019, The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance and Stormzy’s 2019 performance on the legendary Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury all compete in the Live Event category.

BBC Three, Channel 5 and Sky Atlantic are all in contention for the RTS Channel of the Year award with Casualty, EastEnders and Coronation Street nominated in the Soap and Continuing Drama category.

Winners will be announced at the RTS Programme Awards Ceremony, in partnership with Audio Network, hosted by writer and comedian Paul Merton, on Tuesday 17th March at The Grosvenor Hotel.

The full list of nominations are as follows:

Actor (Female)

  • Niamh Algar – The Virtues (Warp Films and Arty Productions for Channel 4)
  • Suranne Jones – Gentleman Jack (A Lookout Point Production in association with HBO for BBC One)
  • Tamara Lawrance – The Long Song (Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One)

Actor (Male)

  • Jared Harris – Chernobyl (Sister, The Mighty Mint and Word Games in association with HBO for Sky Atlantic)
  • Michael Ward – Top Boy (Cowboy Films, Easter Partisan Films, Dream Crew and SpringHill Entertainment for Netflix)
  • Stephen Graham – The Virtues (Warp Films and Arty Productions for Channel 4)

Arts

  • Bros: After The Screaming Stops (Fulwell 73 for BBC Four)
  • 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

  • Aisling Bea – This Way Up (Merman Television for Channel 4)
  • Tanya Moodie – Motherland (Merman Television and Delightful Industries for BBC Two)
  • Tim Renkow – Jerk (Roughcut TV and Primal Media for BBC Three)

Children’s Programme

  • The Athena (Bryncoed Productions for Sky Kids)
  • Step Up to the Plate (Lion TV for CBBC)
  • Zog (Magic Light Pictures for BBC One)

Comedy Performance (Female)

  • Diane Morgan – Motherland (Merman Television and Delightful Industries for BBC Two)
  • Phoebe Waller-Bridge – Fleabag (Two Brothers Pictures in association with All3Media International for BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video)
  • Saiorse-Monica Jackson – Derry Girls (Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4)

Comedy Performance (Male)

  • Alex Murphy & Chris Walley – The Young Offenders (Vico Films and Rotator for BBC Three)
  • Ncuti Gatwa – Sex Education (Eleven Film for Netflix)
  • Youssef Kerkour – Home (Jantaculum and Channel X for Channel 4)

Daytime Programme

  • Beat the Chef (Twofour and Motion Content Group for Channel 4)
  • Good Morning Britain (ITV Studios Daytime for ITV
  • The Repair Shop (Ricochet for BBC One)

Documentary Series

  • The Choir: Our School By The Tower (Twenty Twenty Productions for BBC Two)
  • Crime and Punishment (72 Films for Channel 4)
  • Hometown: A Killing (7 Wonder for BBC Three)

Drama Series

  • Ackley Bridge (The Forge Entertainment for Channel 4)
  • The Capture (Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One)
  • Gentleman Jack (A Lookout Point Production in association with HBO for BBC One)

Entertainment

  • Britain’s Got Talent (Thames/Syco for ITV)
  • Love Island (ITV Studios Entertainment/Motion Content Group for ITV2)
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (World of Wonder Productions for BBC Three)

Entertainment Performance

  • London Hughes – Don’t Hate The Playaz (Monkey Kingdom for ITV2)
  • 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)

Formatted Popular Factual

  • The British Tribe Next Door (Voltage for Channel 4)
  • Celebrity Gogglebox (Studio Lambert for Channel 4)
  • The Circle (Studio Lambert & Motion Content Group for Channel 4)

History

  • Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain (Blast! Films for Channel 4)
  • The Last Survivors (Minnow Films for BBC Two)
  • Spotlight on The Troubles: A Secret History (BBC NI for BBC Four and BBC One Northern Ireland)

Live Event

  • The BRIT Awards 2019 (BRITs TV for ITV)
  • The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance (BBC Studios for BBC One)
  • Stormzy at Glastonbury 2019 (BBC Studios for BBC Two)

Mini-Series

  • Chernobyl (Sister, The Mighty Mint and Word Games in association with HBO for Sky Atlantic)
  • The Long Song (Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One)
  • Years and Years (Red Production Company for BBC One)

Presenter

  • Fred Brathwaite – A Fresh Guide to Florence with Fab 5 Freddy (BBC Studios for BBC Two)
  • Mobeen Azhar – Hometown: A Killing (7 Wonder for BBC Three)
  • Vicky McClure – Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure (Curve Media for BBC One)

RTS Channel of the Year

  • BBC Three
  • Channel 5
  • Sky Atlantic

Science and Natural History

  • 8 Days: To the Moon and Back (BBC Studios, PBS & The Open University, The Science Unit for BBC Two)
  • The Parkinson’s Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure? (Passionate Productions for BBC Two)
  • The Planets (A BBC Studios Production with NOVA and WGBH Boston for BBC, PBS co-produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures. A BBC Open University Partnership for BBC Two)

Scripted Comedy

  • Derry Girls (Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4)
  • Fleabag (Two Brothers Pictures in association with All3Media International for BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video)
  • Stath Lets Flats (Roughcut TV for Channel 4)

Single Documentary

  • David Harewood: Psychosis and Me (Films of Record for BBC Two)
  • Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag (Hardcash Productions for ITV)
  • War in the Blood (Minnow Films for BBC Two)

Single Drama

  • Brexit: The Uncivil War (House Productions in association with HBO for Channel 4)
  • Doing Money (Renegade Pictures for BBC Two)
  • The Left Behind (BBC Studios for BBC Three and BBC Cymru Wales)

Soap and Continuing Drama

  • Casualty (BBC Studios for BBC One)
  • Coronation Street (ITV Studios for ITV)
  • EastEnders (BBC Studios for BBC One)

Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit

  • Alex Scott – 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup (Input Media and BBC Sport for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer)
  • Gareth Thomas – 2019 Rugby World Cup (ITV Sport for ITV)
  • Nasser Hussain – The Ashes (Sky Sports for Sky Sports Cricket)

Sports Programme

  • 2019 Rugby World Cup (ITV Sport for ITV)
  • ICC Cricket World Cup Final (Sky Sports & Sunset+Vine for ICC TV and Sky Sports Cricket)
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 – Semi Final: England v USA (Input Media and BBC Sport for BBC One)

Writer (Comedy)

  • Danny Brocklehurst – Brassic (Calamity Films for Sky One)
  • Laurie Nunn – Sex Education (Eleven Film for Netflix)
  • Phoebe Waller-Bridge – Fleabag (Two Brothers Pictures in association with All3Media International for BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video)

Writer (Drama)

  • Craig Mazin – Chernobyl (Sister, The Mighty Mint and Word Games in association with HBO for Sky Atlantic)
  • Neil Forsyth – Guilt (Happy Tramp North and Expectation for BBC Scotland and BBC Two)
  • Roy Williams – Soon Gone: A Windrush Chroniclea (A Douglas Road and Young Vic Production for BBC Four)