Sue Perkins

When Kim Shillinglaw became Controller of BBC Two last year, one of her predecessors took her for a drink. Roly Keating had launched BBC Four, moved on to BBC Two and filled in as temporary boss of BBC One. In a meeting room in New Broadcasting House, Shillinglaw recalls with terrible clarity what he told her.

“He said, ‘You will find BBC Two is the toughest. Let me tell you that now. BBC Four has a lot of individual commissions but not very much money, so there’s a limit to how many things it can commission.

The shortlist for The Grierson Trust 2015 British Documentary Awards has been announced.

The BBC and Channel 4 dominate the list, with 34 and 25 entries respectively.

Channel 5 features in the list for the first time since 2009, with nods for GPs: Behind Closed Doors and Can’t Pay? Final Demand Special.

First-time nominees include Vice for The Islamic State, BBC iPlayer with Adam Curtis’ Bitter Lake, CNN for Extreme Antibiotics and, in a children’s first, CBBC with Mr Alzheimers and Me.