BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video show “Fleabag” was popular at the U.K.’s annual Royal Television Society Programme Awards, picking up gongs for scripted comedy and comedy writer for Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Meanwhile, Craig Mazin won best drama writer for HBO and Sky Atlantic’s “Chernobyl.”
The awards ceremony was held behind closed doors for the first time, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Comedian and writer Paul Merton revealed the awards that were live streamed to nominees and viewers at home via the RTS website.
HBO and BBC One program “Gentleman Jack” won best drama series, while BBC Three’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.” won best entertainment program. Channel 5 was declared channel of the year.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson won female comedy performance for Channel 4 program “Derry Girls,” over fellow nominees Waller-Bridge and Diane Morgan for BBC Two’s “Motherland.”
Ncuti Gatwa won the male comedy performance award for Netflix’s “Sex Education.” Tamara Lawrance won best female actor for BBC One’s “The Long Song” that also won best mini-series. Stephen Graham won best male actor for Channel 4’s “The Virtues.”
Mobeen Azhar won best presenter for BBC Three’s “Hometown: A Killing.”
Elsewhere, BBC Four’s “Bros: After The Screaming Stops” won best arts program, while Tanya Moodie won the breakthrough award for “Motherland” and BBC One’s “Zog” won best children’s program while the channel also took home the best daytime program award for “The Repair Shop.”
BBC Two won best documentary series for “The Choir: Our School By The Tower,” the live event award for “Stormzy At Glastonbury 2019,” science and natural history program for “The Parkinson’s Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure?” and best single documentary for “War in the Blood.”
London Hughes won best entertainment performance for ITV2’s “Don’t Hate The Playaz.”
Channel 4 also won the formatted popular factual program award for “The British Tribe Next Door” and the history award for “Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain.”
BBC Three and BBC Cymru Wales’ “The Left Behind” won best single drama while BBC One’s “Casualty” won best continuing soap.
Producer Jane Featherstone won the Judges’ Award.
Sony Pictures Television president Wayne Garvie, who is serving his last year as chair of the awards, said: “We are all facing an incredibly difficult time and rightfully have made responsible changes to the format of the RTS program awards. Despite this, we would like to acknowledge the incredible contribution of all our nominees to the U.K.’s television output and celebrate our deserving winners.”
The awards are held in partnership with Audio Network.
