RTS North West

Following the screening of episode one, executive producer Catherine Oldfield, co-creator and writer Daragh Carville, and actors Morven Christie and Daniel Ryan were on hand to discuss the show with ITV Granada Reports presenter Ann O’Connor.

Christie plays a detective sergeant and family liaison officer, who is embedded to offer support to the family of missing teenage twins, which allows her to investigate their disappearance from within.

Manchester Metropolitan University students won the Drama and Camera awards, while the Factual award went to the University of Bolton. Manchester School of Art’s Chelsea June Hicks won the Production Design award.

“It is so important to recognise the emerging talent in the industry,” said Richard Frediani, Chair of the RTS North West Student Television Awards. “The winners and nominees this year demonstrated the exceptionally high standard of work which continues to be produced across the North West.”

The three-part drama, which is full of warmth and humour, tells the story of an ordinary family faced with an extraordinary situation.

Eleven-year-old Max identifies as a girl, and as the ticking clock of puberty begins and Max’s belief that he’s in the wrong body intensifies, the fractured family – mum, played by Anna Friel and dad, Emmett J Scanlan – must unite to help Max find a way forward.

“RTS North West awards are getting bigger and better every year and this years’ nominations are another truly amazing line-up of great programmes, ground-breaking journalism and incredible creative talent,” said North West Tonight presenter Roger Johnson, who revealed the names of the contenders at the party.

Audio Network sponsored the RTS North West Awards Launch Party 2018. The awards ceremony will be held on 10 November at the Hilton Deansgate, Manchester.

Gritty BBC One daytime drama Moving On ­­– which won the Daytime prize at the RTS Programme Awards and celebrated its 50th episode earlier this year – came under the microscope at a North West event at the Lowry Theatre, Salford in late March.

Created by Jimmy McGovern and made by Liverpool’s LA Productions, the anthology drama series made its TV debut in 2009.

The director of TV social media outfit SMMS added that half of viewers also look up the hashtag of a show to see what people are saying.

At an entertaining and informative masterclass, Booth argued that it makes sense to use social media to engage with audiences. “Social media is transforming the way people experience TV,” she said. “They’re using it to decide what to watch.”