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Arqiva British Academy Television Awards Nominations Announced

24 April 2012
Arqiva British Academy Television Awards

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today announced this year’s nominations for the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards. Taking place on Sunday 27 May at the Royal Festival Hall, the Awards are hosted by first-time nominee Dara O’Briain.

  • Appropriate Adult leads this year’s TV BAFTAs with four nominations
  • Sherlock and This is England ‘88 tie for the second spot with three nominations each
  • Host Dara O’Briain receives his first-ever nomination
  • Moriarty takes on Watson as Andrew Scott goes head to head with Martin Freeman
  • First-time nominations for ITV2, ITV4 and Al Jazeera

ITV1’s Appropriate Adult is this year’s most nominated programme, picking up four nominations for Leading Actor, Leading Actress, Supporting Actress and Mini Series. Sherlock receives three nominations, one in Leading Actor and two for Supporting Actor. This is England ‘88 also receives three nominations for Leading Actor, Leading Actress and Mini Series.

In the Leading Actor category, Dominic West receives his first nomination for his performance as Fred West in Appropriate Adult alongside Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), John Simm (Exile) and fellow first-time nominee Joseph Gilgun (This is England ‘88).

In the Leading Actress category, Vicky McClure is once again nominated for her portrayal of Lol in This is England ‘88, the role she won the BAFTA for last year. Romola Garai (Sugar) in The Crimson Petal and the White and Nadine Marshal (Sister) for her performance in Random are both first-time nominees, alongside Emily Watson (Appropriate Adult) for her portrayal of Janet.

Last year’s BAFTA winner Martin Freeman (Sherlock) is once again nominated in the Supporting Actor category up against Andrew Scott (Sherlock) who receives his first BAFTA nomination. Stephen Rea (The Shadowline) and first-time nominee Joseph Mawle (Birdsong) complete the nominees in this category.

Five-time BAFTA Winner & Academy Fellow Maggie Smith is nominated in the Supporting Actress category for her performance in Downton Abbey, alongside Anna Chancellor (The Hour), Monica Dolan (Appropriate Adult) and Miranda Hart (Call the Midwife).

This year’s Drama Series category sees previous winners Misfits and Spooks vying for another BAFTA. They are joined by The Fades and Scott and Bailey.

Appropriate Adult, The Crimson Petal and the White, This is England ‘88 and Top Boy are all nominated in the Mini Series category.

The Single Drama category is contested by Page Eight - the spy drama written by David Hare, Holy Flying Circus - the fantastical re-imagining of the build-up to the release of the film Life of Brian and the controversy it caused, Random - which tells the story of an ordinary family whose routine is shattered by a random act and Stolen - a drama that looks at child trafficking in the UK.

Host and first-time nominee Dara O’Briain is nominated in the Entertainment Performance category alongside last year’s BAFTA winner and host Graham Norton. They are joined by Alan Carr and two-time winner in this category Harry Hill.

In the Female Performance in a Comedy Programme category, Academy Fellow Jennifer Saunders receives her first nomination since 1992 - for the same role - playing Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous. Also nominated in this category are Tamsin Greig for Friday Night Dinner and first-time nominees Ruth Jones for Stella and Olivia Colman for Twenty Twelve.

In the Male Performance in a Comedy Programme category, Tom Hollander is once again nominated for his role in Rev. as Adam Smallbone. He is joined by Brendan O’Carroll who receives his first performance nomination for his role as Mrs Brown in Mrs Brown’s Boys, Hugh Bonneville for Twenty Twelve and first-time nominee Darren Boyd for his role as Tim in Sky One’s Spy.

Last year’s winner Rev. and Mrs Brown’s Boys also garner nominations in the Situation Comedy category alongside Friday Night Dinner and new show Fresh Meat.

In the Comedy Programme category the nominations are Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe, Comic Strip: The Hunt for Tony Blair, The Cricklewood Greats and Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle.
In the new Reality and Constructed Factual category An Idiot Abroad, Don’t Tell the Bride, Made in Chelsea and The Young Apprentice all compete for the Award.

Celebrity Juice gets its first nomination in the Entertainment Programme category alongside multi-nominated Harry Hill’s TV Burp, Derren Brown: The Experiments and Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Comedy Roadshow.
Soap & Continuing Drama sees the north take on the south with Coronation Street and Shameless up against EastEnders and Holby City.

The Killing returns to the International category to defend last year’s win, taking on fellow Danish political drama Borgen, Australia’s The Slap - which traces the shattering repercussions of a single event upon a group of family and friends and the USA’s Modern Family - which takes a satirical look at trials faced by an extended family.

Four first-time nominees battle it out in the Features category. In DIY SOS: The Big Build Nick Knowles leads a team to transform DIY disasters, whilst in Hairy Bikers’ Meals on Wheels the Bikers encourage volunteers to come forward to help their Meals on Wheels crusade. Mel and Sue encourage amateur bakers in The Great British Bake Off and drifting away from cooking the final programme follows Timothy Spall and his wife as they navigate the coast from Cornwall to Wales in their Dutch barge - Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea.
The Choir: Military Wives, Educating Essex, Our War and Protecting Our Children: Damned If We Do Damned If We Don’t all battle it out in the Factual Series category.

This year’s Specialist Factual nominees cover a diverse range of subjects: British Masters follows Art historian James Fox as he explores British paintings from 1910-1975; Frozen Planet saw David Attenborough exploring the earth’s last great wilderness; Brian Cox revealed how the most fundamental scientific principles and laws explain not only the story of the universe, but the story of us all in Wonders of the Universe; and Mummifying Alan: Egypt’s Last Secret follows a team of scientists as they attempt to mummify a specially donated body to understand the ancient Egyptian technique.

Four sensitive and moving films compete in the Single Documentary category: 9/11: The Day That Changed The World goes behind the scenes through the memories of America’s key decision makers to show, minute by minute, how they struggled to manage the assault on their nation; The Fight of Their Lives revolves around the infamous world championship bout between Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan in February 1995; Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die – in which he considers how he might end his life having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2008 and explores the realities of medically-assisted death; We Need To Talk About Dad (Cutting Edge) follows a family who are reunited to confront terrible events from their past.

The News Coverage category recognises exceptional reporting of some of the most important and affecting events of the year: BBC News at Ten is nominated for coverage of the siege of Homs; Channel 4 News for a programme covering the Japan earthquake; ITV News at Ten for their coverage of the battle of Misrata and Sky News for their live coverage of the Libyan rebels as they began their dramatic advance towards the centre of Tripoli.
Al Jazeera receive their first nomination in the Current Affairs category for Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark which documents the struggle that erupted on the streets of Bahrain during the height of the Arab uprisings; Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields presents a forensic investigation into the final weeks of the quarter-century long civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers. The BBC Panorama series receives two nominations for The Truth About Adoption and Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed.

The newly expanded Sports and Live Events category sees two sporting events Rugby World Cup Final and Tour De France 2011 competing against the BBC’s coverage of The Royal Wedding and the live drama and music event Frankenstein’s Wedding: Live in Leeds.

The New Media category rewards excellence and innovation in offering users a multi-platform TV experience. The nominees are BBC Online’s Autumn Watch and Psychoville, E4.com’s Misfits and channel4.com’s The Bank Job.
The nominations for the publicly-voted YouTube Audience Award were announced on Thursday 19 April. They are: Celebrity Juice, Educating Essex, Fresh Meat, Frozen Planet, The Great British Bake Off and Sherlock.


Downloads

Press Release: TV Awards Nominations in 2012 (201.5 KB) ]
Press Release: TV Awards Nominations in 2012 (156.6 KB) ]
List: TV Awards Nominations in 2012 (198.5 KB) ]
List: TV Awards Nominations in 2012 (100.5 KB) ]


Further Information

For further information, please contact Dan Maynard at freud communications

T: 0203 003 6649
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NOTES TO EDITORS


Nominations by channel:

BBC One 22
BBC Two 15
BBC Three 4
BBC Four 10
BBC Online 2
ITV1 13
ITV2 1
ITV4 1
Channel 4 18
E4 2
E4.com 1
C4.com 1
Sky One 4
Sky News 1
Al Jazeera 1

!!Rules:

  • Programmes must have had their first transmission in the UK between 1 March 2011 and 15 February 2012 on terrestrial, cable, satellite or digital channels.
  • Programmes may be regional or networked.
  • International programmes are only eligible in the International category, unless they are co-productions (both financially and creatively, and provided the first transmission was in the UK).

Television & Television Craft Awards:

The Arqiva British Academy Television Awards take place on Sunday 27 May, and the British Academy Television Craft Awards take place two weeks earlier on Sunday 13 May. Combining the nominations from the Television and Television Craft Awards, Appropriate Adult leads the pack with a total of eight nominations. Great Expectations comes a close second with seven nominations (all in the TV Craft Awards); Birdsong, Sherlock and Frozen Planet have six nominations each apiece.


About BAFTA

BAFTA Email LogoThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. For further information, visit www.bafta.org.


About Arqiva

[[MEDIA:{"IMAGE":"http:\/\/static.bafta.org\/images\/width120\/arqiva-199-rgb-17199.jpg","ALIGN":"RIGHT","WIDTH":"120","ALT":"Arqiva Logo [Web Crop]","CREDIT":null}]]Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, operates at the heart of the broadcast, satellite and mobile communications markets. The company is at the forefront of network solutions and services in the digital world. Arqiva provides much of the infrastructure behind television, radio, satellite and wireless communications in the UK and has a significant presence in Ireland, mainland Europe and the USA. Customers include major broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, BSkyB and the independent radio groups, major telco providers including the UK's five mobile network operators, and the emergency services. www.arqiva.com