Derry Girls and BBC NI were amongst some of the big winners of the evening.
Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls has won the Comedy Award at the Royal Television Society Northern Ireland awards.
The ceremony took place in Belfast City Hall on Thursday evening. The series, which was created by Derry writer Lisa McGee, took home the prize for its third and final series.
One of the series’ stars, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell who plays Michelle in the hit show, also picked up the prize for Best On-Screen Talent for her presenting of Channel 4’s The Real Derry, which was produced by Tyrone Productions.
BBC Northern Ireland also scooped various prizes for their work at the glitzy ceremony which was hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Blu Hydrangea. The broadcaster was awarded the Current Affairs Award for Spotlight: The Babymaker Uncovered, which exposed the practices of a clinic claiming to give desperate fertility patients a much greater chance of getting pregnant.
It also picked up the Entertainment Award for The Belfast Mixtape: Songs from Lockdown which aired in September 2022. Other awards of the night included the Children’s and Animation Award which went to Zodiak Kids & Family Productions UK for Silverpoint while Irish Language drama Doineann by DoubleBand Films won the Drama Award.
Aisling Productions and Soilsiu Films was awarded the Best Documentary for Young Plato: The Philosophy Boys of Ardoyne. The Chronicles of Strangford won the Best Lifestyle/Features Award for Waddell Media and the Factual Entertainment Award went to The Fast and the Farmerish-ish by Alleycats TV. UTV picked up the News Coverage Award for UTV Live: Dying on the Streets, with the Specialist Factual Award going to Walk on Air Films and Ronachan Films for Brian Friel: Shy Man, Showman and the Best Original Music Score was awarded to Nowhere Special by Andrew Simon McAllister.
Actor James Martin, who starred in the Academy Award winning short film, An Irish Goodbye, was honoured at the ceremony with the Brian Waddell Award for his outstanding contribution to the industry.
“It is a real pleasure to celebrate the incredible talent of our very own James Martin, who has won the hearts of audiences worldwide with his outstanding performance in An Irish Goodbye,” said Fiona Campbell, Chair of RTS NI. "As an industry we have a unique platform in which we can smash prejudice by ensuring that we are inclusive both on-screen and behind-the-cameras. Congratulations to all our winners and finalists, who represent the best of the creative talent now so evident in Northern Ireland.”
Gareth McGreevy, Chair of RTS NI Awards said: “The high quality of this year’s entries is hugely reflective of our dynamic creative community. The judges had a tough time deciding the eventual winners so well done to everyone who made the shortlist as well as tonight’s winners.
"The RTS NI is an educational charity and events like tonight give us the opportunity to highlight and celebrate the wonderful achievements of our vibrant film and TV industry.”
