David Nath – the co-founder of Story Films – picked up the Director award, while Joe Carey won the Editing prize. Nath’s script for the programme was taken verbatim from the police interview recordings of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who shot a fleeing burglar dead in 1999. The judges described it as a “truly exciting piece of television, so well done technically and very well cast”.

The BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU) also won three awards, including two for its five-part BBC One series on endangered species, Dynasties: Lindsay McCrae, Cinematography; and Simon Bland, Grading, which was overseen by post-production facility Films at 59. The NHU won the Natural History award for the BBC Two Natural World film, Pangolins: The World’s Most Wanted Animal.

BBC Points West journalist Fiona Lamdin was named best News Reporter for the second year running for “her sensitively handled stories and great rapport with contributors”, according to the judges. ITV News West Country won the News Story prize for its film on the 1973 Basle air disaster, in which many people, mainly mothers from Somerset, died.

The Factual award went to Label1 Television for BBC Two’s School, a documentary series filmed in three South Gloucestershire secondary schools.

BBC Studios Unscripted Productions took the Factual Entertainment award for BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow, World War One Special and Testimony Films’ programme for BBC Four about a women’s campaign for safer fishing trawlers, Hull’s Headscarf Heroes, was named best Documentary.

“There was some extraordinary talent on display – in front and behind the camera – and ground-breaking programmes with real impact and emotion,” said RTS West of England Chair Lynn Barlow.

“This is the one night of the year the broadcast community in the West comes together to celebrate their achievements and growing reputation as a global leader in production.”

For the first time, RTS Devon and Cornwall took part in the West of England Awards, entering programmes and helping with the judging process.

The writer, comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, Deborah Frances-White, hosted the ceremony. Award nominees were dotted throughout the Bristol Old Vic, including in the upper circle, so Frances-White had to remind them to take the stairs to the stage – instead of vaulting over balconies “like last year”.

Guests included the BBC One DIY SOS team, Nick Knowles and Mark Millar, presenters Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from BBC One’s Britain’s Fat Fight, Andy Day (CBeebies’ Andy’s Safari Adventures), Charlotte Smith (BBC One’s Countryfile), Miles Chambers (BBC One’s Civilisations Stories: The Remains of Slavery) and TV historian David Olusoga.

Evolutions Bristol was the principal sponsor of the awards.

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West of England Television Awards winners

Scripted Content

The Interrogation of Tony Martin

Story Films

Channel 4

 

Natural History

Natural World – Pangolins: The World’s Most Wanted Animal

BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Thirteen Productions LLC in association with WNET

BBC Two

 

Factual

School

Label 1 Television

BBC Two

 

Documentary

Hull’s Headscarf Heroes

Testimony Films

BBC Four

 

Factual Entertainment

Antiques Roadshow: World War One Special

BBC Studios

BBC One

 

Children’s

My Life: Mumbai Street Strikers

Drummer TV

CBBC

 

Animation

Mary Anning: The Girl Who Helped Discover Dinosaurs

Studio Panda

BBC Ideas

 

Short Form

Signs with Soul

Reuben and Jamie

 

On-screen Talent

Dr Yasmin Khan

A Passage to Britain

Wall to Wall West

BBC Two

 

New Talent

Charlotte Gay

ITV News West Country

 

News or Current Affairs Story

Basle Air Disaster

ITV News West Country

 

News or Current Affairs Reporter

Fiona Lamdin

BBC Points West

 

Craft – Cinematographer

Lindsay McCrae

Dynasties

BBC Studios Natural History Unit, BBC America and France Télévisions

BBC One

 

Craft – Director

David Nath

The Interrogation of Tony Martin

Story Films

Channel 4

 

Craft – Composer

Sam Foster and David Johnston

God’s Kingdom

Echoic Audio

 

Craft – Editing

Joe Carey

The Interrogation of Tony Martin

Story Films

Channel 4

 

Craft – Grading

Simon Bland

Dynasties

Films at 59

BBC One

 

Craft – Sound

Will Norie and Owen Hemming-Brown

God’s Kingdom

Evolutions Bristol and Echoic Audio

 

Craft – VFX and Digital Creativity

Howard Jones, Grant Hewlett, Ella Askew and Pat Andrew

Early Man

Axis VFX for Aardman Animations