RTS West of England has announced the shortlist of nominations for its annual awards, in association with Evolutions Bristol, in the fields of on screen talent, craft, scripted, animation, regional television news and across a range of factual programming including natural history and documentary.
The RTS West of England Awards is the only annual celebration of the region’s creative community and this year the region has again welcomed the work from the RTS Devon and Cornwall centre.
“It’s even more important, this year, to celebrate the extraordinary talents of the television community. The majority of our entries were made during the pandemic and it’s down to the creative problem-solving, ingenuity and sheer hard work of the production teams, that the quality of the entries is so very high”, says Lynn Barlow, RTS West of England chair and Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Creative and Cultural Industries Engagement, UWE.
“Congratulations to all our nominees. We are looking forward to celebrating your success.”
BBC Studios Natural History Unit leads the way with 11 nominations for a wide range of programmes it has made and in associated craft categories. Notable shows include Primates, Waterhole and Springwatch.
In scripted, there are five nominations for dramas shot and produced in the region across a range of subject matter including ITV drama McDonald & Dodds set in Bath and The Trial of Christine Keeler, the story of the Profumo Affair told from Christine’s perspective. In addition The Cure, a factually based drama about the true story of Julie Bailey, who blows the whistle on one of the worst scandals in the history of the NHS, Pale Horse based on the Agatha Christie mystery and The Spanish Princess, broadcast on Starzplay with production based at The Bottle Yard Studios.
There is an array of talent represented in the on screen talent category including Tom Kerridge in Saving Britain’s Pubs with Tom Kerridge, in which he offers business advice and moral support to struggling landlords and Megan McCubbin for Springwatch 2020, who experienced her very first foray into live presenting when the pandemic struck and she was self-isolating with step-father and fellow presenter Chris Packham, Plus actress Tala Gouveia, for playing DCI Lauren McDonald in ITV drama McDonald & Dodds and Nadiya Hussain for Nadiya’s American Adventure.
In Factual Entertainment and Features, four hit shows go head to head including Antiques Roadshow, The Battle of Britain and The Blitz Special (BBC Studios), Nadiya Bakes (Wall to Wall West) War on Plastic: The Fight Goes On presented by Anita Rani and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Keo Films) and Channel 4’s Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country (Outline Productions) in which property expert Sarah Beeny and her family swap London life for a new start on a semi-derelict former dairy farm in Somerset.
Local independent production company Offspring Films has six nominations for its show Earth at Night in Colour for Apple TV, capturing animals’ nocturnal lives, with Indefinite Films and Marble Films at four nominations each for documentaries Murder in the Car Park and Locked In: Breaking the Silence respectively.
In News, BBC Points West has five nominations across News Journalist and Story, with ITV News West Country and Drummer TV scoring a nomination each.
Click here for the list of nominations and the judges can be viewed here.
The RTS West of England Awards will take place on Sunday September 26th at the Bristol Old Vic.
