Award shortlists announced

Still Game, Patrick Kielty and stand-up Bennett Arron have all been shortlisted for Celtic Media Awards.

The awards, celebrating the best of Irish, Scottish and Welsh programming, will be handed out at. festival in Douglas on the Isle Of Man in May.

The nominees in the comedy category are:

• 'Run Sbit, a sitcom about a Welsh lookalike agency made for S4C

• Bridget & Eamon, RTE’s sitcom about a typical unhappily married 1980s Irish couple, which has aired on Gold in the UK

•Still Game, the seventh series of Ford Kiernan and Greg Hempill’s sitcom, now moved to prime-time BBC One.

Shortlisted for radio comedy of the year are:

• Bennett Arron Worries About... Being Offensive, the stand-up’s show for Radio Wales

• Big Country, a four-part sitcom, written by Patrick Kiely about a farming family

• Breaking The News, Radio Scotland’s topical quiz hosted by Des Clarke

• Bron Meirion, a smutty family sitcom, written in Welsh by comic Tudur Owen for BBC Radio Cymru

• Colm O'Regan Wants a Word, in which the comedian examined language for Irish broadcaster RTE Radio 1

• Fags, Mags & Bags, Radio 4’s long-running comedy about a Glaswegian corner shop

• Lewis Macleod’s Wired News, a satirical show from impressionist Lewis Macleod for BBC Radio Scotland

• The Unexplainers, a BBC Wales comedy podcast about paranormal investigators from Mike Bubbins and John Rutledge

Gus Beattie, producer of two of the nominated radio shows, said of his programmes: ‘I’m so pleased for Donny Mcleary and Sanjeev Kohli, writers and stars of Fags, Mags & Bags, who did such a wonderful job updating the show to reflect a new Scotland after three and a half years away.  

‘ Also very happy for Lewis Macleod’s Wired News, not only because it features the mercurial mimic talents of Lewis Macleod, but it also gave opportunities to a host of new and very talented Scottish sketch writers.’

Published: 3 Mar 2017