Adolescence triumphs at Broadcasting Press Guild Awards

Netflix hit Adolescence and its star-studded cast dominated at the Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) Awards on Wednesday.

The crime drama picked up five gongs, with Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty each receiving the award for best actor in their respective categories, and a nod for their performance in Disney+ series A Thousand Blows.

The headline-hitting show also won the prize for best single drama or mini-series, while its star Owen Cooper took home the BPG breakthrough talent award.

The co-creator of the show, Jack Thorne, who also penned the mini-series Toxic Town, won the award for best writer.

It comes after the show, about a teenage boy arrested for the murder of a classmate, won four Golden Globes in January and a number of Emmys last year.

Meanwhile, The Celebrity Traitors took home the award for the best entertainment, after its first series launched on the BBC last autumn.

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the celebrity spin-off to The Traitors was a ratings winner for the BBC and its nail-biting finale saw comedian Alan Carr snatch victory from faithful historian David Olusoga and actor Nick Mohammed.

The BBC also snagged awards for its crime series Blue Lights, which took home the gong for best drama, while Amandaland won best comedy and Louis Theroux: The Settlers was awarded best single documentary or mini-series.

The ceremony, which took place at The Barbican in London, also saw Channel 4’s fly-on-the-wall show, Educating Yorkshire, win the prize for best documentary series, as it made its return to TV last autumn after 12 years.

During the ceremony, hosted by Rhianna Dhillon, Love Actually star Bill Nighy picked up the prize for podcast of the year for his programme, Ill-Advised.

The audio programme of the year award was given to BBC Radio 4’s What Happened To Counter Culture?, while Radio 2 host Sara Cox was hailed as audio presenter of the year.

Television writer, producer and director Sally Wainwright received the Harvey Lee award recognising her work on TV dramas, including the award-winning series Happy Valley.

The BPG innovation award was given to a pop-up 1980s-themed radio station titled WSQK ‘The Squawk’, which was launched by Global for Netflix to promote the final series of its hit show, Stranger Things.

Comedy content creator Specs Gonzalez won the prize for emerging creator, while TV producer Adeel Amini and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg were both recognised with a BPG members’ special award.

Matt Deegan, chairman of the BPG, said: “This year’s winners show just how powerful British broadcasting can be when it combines ambition with authenticity.

“From bold drama and fearless documentary to inventive entertainment and audio storytelling, these programmes and creators have captured the imagination of audiences and critics alike.

“Voted for by the members of the Broadcasting Press Guild — journalists who spend their working lives covering television, radio and the media — these awards recognise work that truly stood out over the past year.

“At a time of enormous change for our industry, it’s encouraging to see such confident, distinctive storytelling continuing to emerge.”