NORTH EAST & THE BORDER AWARDS 2017

Saturday February 25th 2017 saw the 30th RTS North East & The Border Centre Awards ceremony — and it was probably the best yet.

Wonderfully hosted by Sky News presenter Jayne Secker at the Newcastle Gateshead Hilton, the evening showcased and rewarded the best of television and visual creativity in the region over 15 categories.  For a full list of the winners, click here.

There were also special awards for Fiona Armstrong and Mike Neville (in his 80th year).  And to celebrate the 30th Anniversary, Alan Farrington (who's been the backstage director for all 30 award ceremonies) was given a special award to mark the occasion...

... except that he wasn't!  For the first time in 30 years, Alan was unable to be backstage, as he'd unfortunately suffered injuries the day before when his car left the road on the way back from working at the Copeland by-election.  Instead, his wife Lucy Jolly came on stage to receive the award on his behalf... having also acted as stand-in director in his place.  We all honour Lucy, and wish Alan a full and speedy recovery.

For a full list of the category winners (including the Regional Student Awards) click here.  There's also a gallery of pictures here.