• BBC triumphs with 15 RTS awards
  • Director Ben Frow wins Judges’ Award
  • Welsh-language Prosiect Z wins best Children’s Programme

Jodie Comer_RTS Programme Awards 2019

Best Actor: Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer

Source: Paul Hampartsoumian / RTS

Jodie Comer for Killing Eve and Lucian Msamati for Kiri were among those celebrated last night at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.

The BBC was awarded 15 of the RTS Programme Awards for Killing Eve, A Very English Scandal, Mum and Inside No. 9 commended by judges for commissioning diverse high-quality programmes.

Jodie Comer’s iconic performance in Killing Eve won her the best Actor - Female award, with Lucian Msamati winning the Actor - Male award for his harrowing and extraordinary portrayal of Tobi in Kiri.

Lesley Manville_RTS Programme Awards 2019

Best Comedy Performance (Female): Lesley Manville was recognised for Mum

Source: Paul Hampartsoumian / RTS

Mum won two awards during the evening with Stefan Golaszewski winning the Writer - Comedy award, and Lesley Manville winning the Comedy Performance - Female which was described by judges as having set a “new benchmark for excellence In this genre”.

The winner of the Comedy Performance - Male went to Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith for their “astonishing and committed” performances for Inside No. 9.

Derry Girls took home the award for Scripted Comedy whilst The Last Leg won the Entertainment Programme category, with Big Narstie and Mo Gilligan winning the Entertainment Performance award.

Welsh-language Prosiect Z took home the award for best Children’s programme for S4C with judges commending creators for the programmes “great narrative” and “thoroughly engaging throughout.”

Romesh Ranganathan took home the award for Presenter for The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganthan, with Osi Umenyiora winning the award for Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit for his work on NFL This Week and The NFL Show.

misadventures of romesh ranganathan

Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan

Source: BBC2

Described as an “exciting new talent destined for an exceptional future”, Nabhaan Rizwan took home the RTS Breakthrough Award for his incredible performance in Informer.

Sky Alantic’s Save Me was recognised in two separate categories: Drama Series and Writer – Drama for Lennie James. The show was praised by judges for “its authenticity as a series and captivating performances throughout.”

The past year has seen some truly captivating documentaries created, giving audiences much-needed insight into issues affecting both people and the planet: Channel 5’s Raped: My Story won the Programme Award for Single Documentary, alongside Channel 4’s Prison which took home the award for Documentary Series.

Drowning In Plastic won the award for Science and Natural History with A Dangerous Dynasty: The Household Of Assad winning the award in the History category. The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night won the Formatted Popular Factual category.

The Live Event award went to the BBC’s The Royal Wedding: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Match of The Day 2018 World Cup: Quarter Final - England VS Sweden won Sports Programme Of the Year, described by judges as “capturing the intense emotion of the occasion”.

a very english scandal

A Very English Scandal

Source: BBC1

The BBC’s A Very English Scandal won the award for Mini-Series for its “excellent performances and relevance” whilst the award for Single Drama went to Killed By My Debt for its expertly told tale.

CBeebies took home the award for Channel Of The Year.

The RTS proudly presented its prestigious Judges’ Award to Ben Frow, the transformative Director of Programmes at Channel 5. The panel praised Frow’s “passionate and transformative” approach to the channel since taking it over in 2013, increasing the audience by a full five percent over his tenure.

The winner of the Programme Award for Soap and Continuing Drama went to Hollyoaks, which blew the judges away this year for its performances and content.

While, presenter Lorraine Kelly received the Outstanding Contribution to British Television award.

The RTS Programme Awards seek to recognise programmes which, have made a material and positive contribution to their genre from its originality in form or content or has moved the genre on and or created a new genre because their quality has set standards which other programme-makers can learn from and emulate.

The full list of award winners

Actor (Female)
WINNER – Jodie Comer Killing Eve

The judges described this performance as “already iconic, and impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting the role in quite the same way”.

Nominees:

  • Sandra Oh Killing Eve
  • Michaela Coel Black Earth Rising

Actor (Male)
WINNER - Lucian Msamati Kiri

The judges called the actor’s work in this piece “harrowing, unsentimental and nuanced…an extraordinarily brilliant performance”.

Nominees:

  • Ben Whishaw A Very English Scandal
  • Lennie James Save Me

Arts
WINNER - The Art of Drumming

“A stand out piece of programming, presenting the familiar in a wholly new way without missing a beat”

Nominees:

  • Black Hollywood: “They’ve Gotta Have Us”
  • Germaine Bloody Greer

Breakthrough Award
WINNER - Nabhaan Rizwan Informer

“An exciting new talent who is clearly destined for an exceptional future. The performance was simply incredible.”

Nominees:

  • Mo Gilligan The Big Narstie Show
  • Alice Feetham Save Me

Children’s Programme
WINNER - Prosiect Z

“Thoroughly engaging throughout, with a great narrative and a real sense of jeopardy at its centre”.

Nominees:

  • My Life: Locked in Boy
  • Jacqueline Wilson’s Katy

Comedy Performance (Female)
WINNER - Lesley Manville Mum

“Extremely funny, nuanced and beautifully balanced” … “Her performance really did set a new benchmark for excellence in this genre”.

Nominees:

  • Sian Gibson Peter Kay’s Car Share - The Finale
  • Daisy May Cooper This Country

Comedy Performance (Male)
WINNER - Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith Inside No. 9

The judges called the work here “astonishing and committed, simply a masterclass in comedy performance at the very highest level”.

Nominees:

  • Alex Murphy & Chris Walley The Young Offenders
  • Samson Kayo Famalam

Daytime Programme
WINNER - The Repair Shop

“An original and engaging programme with lots of heart and great production values”

Nominees:

  • Moving On – Invisible
  • Murder, Mystery and My Family

Documentary Series
WINNER - Prison

“Cutting deeper than most immersive access documentaries, this series had a droll and provocative tone which emerged through astonishing scenes, encounters and characters”

Nominees:

  • Love and Hate Crime
  • Drugsland

Drama Series
WINNER - Save Me

“So fresh and authentic, it was if the dialogue was real rather than written. An astonishing achievement”

Nominees:

  • Killing Eve
  • Peaky Blinders

Entertainment
WINNER - The Last Leg

“Bold and totally brilliant, entertaining its audience with seemingly endless creative inventiveness”.

Nominees:

  • Britain’s Got Talent
  • Don’t Hate The Playaz

Entertainment Performance
WINNER - Big Narstie and Mo Gilligan The Big Narstie Show

“A complete breath of fresh air, refreshingly raw, authentic and VERY entertaining.”

Nominees:

  • Jennifer Hudson The Voice UK
  • Michael McIntyre Michael McIntyre’s Big Show

Formatted Popular Factual
WINNER - The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night

“A deftly handled, original piece of work which has genuinely made its own impact on the factual landscape”

Nominees:

  • Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Road Trip: The French Connection
  • Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing

History
WINNER - A Dangerous Dynasty: The House of Assad

“An accessible, compelling piece with some astonishing archive and telling an important story”

Nominees:

  • Holocaust: The Revenge Plot
  • The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story

Live Event
WINNER - The Royal Wedding: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

“A very British spectacle captured with great style and flair”

Nominees:

  • The Real Full Monty Live
  • Glyndebourne Opera Cup

Mini-Series
WINNER - A Very English Scandal

“An exceptionally confident drama that couldn’t be more relevant in these uncertain times, but written and performed with a sense of both lightness and outrage.”

Nominees:

  • The Cry
  • Butterfly

Presenter
WINNER - Romesh Ranganathan The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan

The judges said, “brought genuine originality to every scene, making the whole endeavour distinctive and very special”.

Nominees:

  • Michael Palin Michael Palin in North Korea
  • Bobby Friction Pump Up the Bhangra: The Sound of Asian Britain

RTS Channel of the Year
WINNER – Cbeebies

The winning channel “seems more important now than ever…commissioning programmes that entertain and educate its audience in equal measure.”

Nominees:

  • BBC One
  • Channel 5

Science and Natural History
WINNER - Drowning in Plastic

“Deeply emotionally engaging on a subject we thought we all knew about”

Nominees:

  • The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History
  • Blue Planet II

Scripted Comedy
WINNER - Derry Girls

“Skilful, special and truthful, combining super-smart writing with outstanding acting”

Nominees:

  • Famalam
  • Detectorists

Single Documentary
WINNER - Raped: My Story

“A shocking eye-opener of a programme” said the judges. “It was beautiful, powerful film making; carefully produced and edited brilliantly.”

Nominees:

  • Grenfell
  • Married to a Paedophile

Single Drama
WINNER - Killed By My Debt

“Devastating, with a true story unpacked expertly and brought to life by extremely well-judged performances”.

Nominees:

  • Mother’s Day
  • Black Mirror: USS Callister

Soap and Continuing Drama
WINNER - Hollyoaks

“We were blown away by it!” … “Well written, beautifully acted, it was bold and confident with terrific central performances”.

Nominees:

  • Casualty
  • Coronation Street

Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit
WINNER - Osi Umenyiora NFL This Week and The NFL Show

“Charismatic, knowledgeable, insightful and opinionated – a total joy to watch”.

Nominees:

  • Roy Keane 2018 FIFA World Cup
  • Gary Lineker MOTD: World Cup 2018

Sports Programme
WINNER - MOTD 2018 World Cup: Quarter Final - England v Sweden

“Capturing all the intense emotion of the occasion, alongside some dazzling punditry and a thrilling commentary”.

Nominees:

  • Winter Paralympic Games
  • 2018 Ryder Cup

Writer (Comedy)
WINNER - Stefan Golaszewski Mum 

Writing that “just sings throughout this masterfully well observed, beautiful comedy”.

Nominees:

  • Jamie Demetriou and Robert Popper Stath Lets Flats
  • Lisa McGee Derry Girls

Writer (Drama)
WINNER - Lennie James Save Me

“Witty, warm writing rubbed up against harsh, dark and truthful storytelling populated by wonderful rich characters”.

Nominees:

  • David Nicholls Patrick Melrose
  • Russell T. Davies A Very English Scandal

Judges’ Award
WINNER – Ben Frow

Outstanding Contribution to British Television
WINNER – Lorraine Kelly