While Jack Rooke wins breakthrough award

Derry Girls and This is Going To Hurt were both double winners at this year’s  Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

Channel 4’s Derry Girls was named best comedy, while its creator Lisa McGee took home best writer. The show previously won best comedy in 2019, but this is the first BPG trophy for Lisa McGee.

Meanwhile, the stars of BBC One’s adaptation of Adam Kay’s NHS diaries – Ben Whishaw and Ambika Mod – were named best actor and best actress.

Whishaw had been nominated for this award four times previously: in 2016 for London Spy, in 2013  for The Hollow Crown: Richard II and The Hour and 2009 Criminal Justice.

Mod’s win comes after she failed to secure a nomination in the Bafta awards, which has largely been seen as a major oversight by the judges.

Jack Rooke won the breakthrough talent award for writing the semi-autobiographical Channel 4 comedy, Big Boys

Elsewhere, The Traitors, took the best entertainment title by a wide margin of votes, while BBC One shows also grabbed three other trophies: Sherwood for best drama (4+ episodes); The Real Mo Farah for best documentary Mini series; and Frozen Planet II for best documentary (4+ episodes).

Grant Tucker, the chair of the BPG, said: ‘Our winners always reflect the vast amount of talent in British television and the prizes are going to both programmes and individuals who were extremely popular with our audiences last year.’

The full list of winners is:

Published: 24 Mar 2023