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EA British Academy Children's Awards Winners Announced

28 November 2010
Kids 10 Brian CantBAFTA/ Richard Kendal

Sunday 28 November 2010 - The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is delighted to announce the winners for the 2010 EA British Academy Children's Awards, which took place on Sunday 28 November at the London Hilton, Park Lane.

  • Brian Cant receives the Special Award
  • Gary Barlow presents Channel of the Year
  • Justin Fletcher wins the Presenter Award for the second time
  • Horrible Histories triumphs in three categories

The EA British Academy Children’s Awards took place on Sunday 28 November, celebrating the very best in Children’s Entertainment over the last year. A stellar line-up of presenters including Gary Barlow, England and Spurs mid-fielder Jermaine Jenas, Harry Potter’s Matthew Lewis, Chloe Moretz of Kick-Ass and Let Me In, X Factor’s Aiden Grimshaw, Strictly Come Dancing’s Matt Baker and Narnia’s Georgie Henley joined host Barney Harwood at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Frequently referred to as a ‘superstar’ of children’s television, Justin Fletcher fought off stiff competition to collect the iconic mask in the Presenter category for CBeebies’ Something Special. This is Fletcher’s second award in this category, having previously won in 2008.

The BAFTA Kid’s Vote gave children a chance to have their say across a range of media and attracted over 375,000 votes, with children voting online for their favourite feature film, television programme, video game and website. Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel was their favourite for film and Wizards of Waverly Place for television, with Just Dance winning video game and Club Penguin voted as the top website for the second consecutive year.

Legendary British children’s TV presenter Brian Cant collected the Special Award for his outstanding contribution to children’s television from Strictly Come Dancing and former Blue Peter presenter Matt Baker. Brian Cant began his career in the theatre but it is for his work in children’s television that he is best remembered. During a career that has spanned many decades, Cant has worked on numerous BBC programmes including the iconic Play School, which he presented for 21 years from May 1964.

Horrible Histories was the evening’s multiple awards winner, collecting masks in three out of their four nominated categories. The programme won for Comedy and Writer, with Jim Howick winning in the Performer category.

Fresh from its win at the International Emmys, Shaun the Sheep won the Animation Award. Other winners on the night included CBeebies for Channel of the Year and Kindle Entertainment for Independent Production Company. Tracy Beaker Returns won the Drama category and Up collected the Award for Feature Film, while The Penguins of Madagascar won the International Award for the second consecutive year. Rabbids Go Home won for Video Game, and in the pre-school categories, Something Special won the Live Action Award and Timmy Time collected the mask for Pre-School Animation.

New initiative BAFTA Young Game Designers, a competition giving teams of children aged 11-16 the chance to design their very own video games, was won by Beached Whale Productions (Dan Pearce, 16; Sam Taylor, 16 and James Cook, 13) for their game design HAMSTER: accidental world domination.

BAFTA Chief Executive, Amanda Berry OBE, said:

“These Awards reflect the many ways that children engage with content and it’s great to see so much talent celebrated tonight. The enthusiasm for the BAFTA Kids’ Vote is obvious and we are also thrilled at the success of our new competition, BAFTA Young Game Designers. However, the highlight of the ceremony was undoubtedly the Special Award for Brian Cant. He has provided so much inspiration for today’s programme makers and also holds a very special place in the hearts of older audiences.”