The BBC Two film Two Daughters picked up two prizes at the RTS East Awards in Norwich in June: Factual – Documentary and On-Screen Personality for its presenter, Stacey Dooley, and its subject, Mina Smallman.
In the film, which was made by True Vision East and Little Dooley, the presenter spent close to a year with Smallman, whose daughters Bibaa and Nicole were murdered in a north London park.
The Guardian called it “a raw and devastating film about grief, and an astonishing testament to resilience and the power of faith”.
Dooley and Smallman were unable to attend the ceremony, but recorded acceptance speeches.
“It was such a privilege to be involved…. It’s Mina’s film and Mina’s story and it’s about her girls but, more broadly, I suppose, it’s about violence against women and how we can make a very necessary contribution…. This is for Bibaa and Nicole – thank you,” said Dooley.
Smallman added: “Thank you so much; thank you for hearing our story…. I chose Stacey for a reason. She’s real; she enabled us to be ourselves…. The [RTS] selecting us keeps the story alive.”
The Factual – Specialist award went to Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art. Made by Bohemia Films for BBC Two, the series tells the story of the Young British Artists movement, which included Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst and which took on art’s old guard in the 90s.
The Scripted Feature award was won by Joanna Hogg’s highly regarded film The Souvenir: Part II, produced by Element Pictures. It was largely shot in a former RAF hangar near King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
In the news categories, BBC Look East senior reporter Zoie O’Brien took the News and Current Affairs Journalist award, while Harbar 8’s investigation for Channel 4’s Dispatches, Hospital Undercover: Are Our Wards Safe?, was named as the year’s News and Current Affairs Story.
The awards ceremony was held at Yalm in the Royal Arcade, Norwich, and hosted by the comedy writer Karl Minns, whose work includes Have I Got News For You.
Anglia Ruskin University, Jarrold Training and Wensum Print sponsored the awards.
Matthew Bell
RTS East Television Awards winners
Scripted - Feature – The Souvenir: Part II, Element Pictures
Factual - Documentary – Two Daughters, True Vision East/Little Dooley for BBC Two
Factual - Specialist – Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art, Bohemia Films for BBC Two
News and Current Affairs Story – Dispatches: Hospital Undercover: Are Our Wards Safe?, Harbar 8 for Channel 4
News and Current Affairs Journalist – Zoie O’Brien, BBC Look East
On-screen Personality – Mina Smallman and Stacey Dooley, Two Daughters, True Vision East/Little Dooley for BBC Two
Promotional Film – POSCA, Box River Studios
Post-production – War of the Worlds, Season 3, Urban Myth Films/Vine FX for Star Production, Maximus, SubMotion Productions
