Stars of the north west TV industry were celebrated at the annual Royal Television Society (RTS) awards in Manchester.
The awards ceremony sees TV favourites compete across 24 categories with some of the biggest stars in TV in attendance at the ceremony at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on Friday night in Manchester.
Across the 24 competitive categories, viewer favourites including Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, Brassic and Waterloo Road all received nods, while the two big regional shows of BBC North West Tonight and ITV’s Granada Reports battled it out across a string of news categories.
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Big winners on the night included supernatural drama Domino Day, which was filmed around Manchester’s Northern Quarter which scooped two awards. The BBC’s Morning Live, filmed at Media City, also claimed three awards on the night including Best Factual Series and Best Presenter for Gethin Jones amid wild celebrations from the team in attendance.
Gethin said in accepting the Best Factual Series award: “I think we are in a little bit of shock.”
Coronation Street star Peter Ash won best performance in a continuing drama after his heartbreaking Paul Foreman motor neurone disease storyline, which also won an award on the night. Peter said: “Doing this storyline has been the proudest moment of my career.”
And there was a standing ovation on the night as the Judges’ Award was bestowed on Helen Worth, Corrie’s Gail Platt, after her 50-year-career on the soap. She was presented on the night by her soap son, Jack P Shepherd, and gave an emotional speech thanking the soap’s cast and crew over the years.
She said: “To receive an award, in Manchester, in the north west, the home of Coronation Street, is an absolute joy.
“I’ve done 50 years, I don’t know how I did it! It just flew by and I never actually thought about it and then one day someone told me I’d been here 50 years and I thought ‘I think it’s time I left’ and that was it really.
“I know why I stayed – it was simple – because of all the wonderful people who work on Coronation Street.”
She has just finished filming on the soap as Gail Platt and quipped that she thought she’d seen the last of her soap son Jack, who plays David Platt. She said: “I can’t believe he’s here. I said goodbye to him two weeks ago – and I thought I’d never see him again!”
Click below for a gallery of photos from the red carpet at the RTS Awards:-
READ MORE: Coronation Street and Waterloo Road stars unite at RTS Awards in Manchester
ITV legend Lucy Meacock also won a standing ovation at the finale of the night as she was given The Tony Wilson Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Industry award. Lucy left ITV and Granada Reports after 36 years earlier this year to the dismay of her army of fans.
The award was particularly poignant given Lucy’s long working relationship with broadcasting icon Tony Wilson on Granada Reports, whe she paid tribute to on the night. She said in an empassioned speech: “This is a really special moment for me.
“This award is made in memory of a really special presenter. Some of you in this room are too young to remember him, but without Tony Wilson Manchester would not be the place it is today. He was the guy who said ‘this is Manchester we do things differently here’ but I think that goes for the whole of the north west.
“Tony was a huge talent and he would be so proud to see what all of you doing here and I would urge you to fly the flag for this part of the world, to stay here, make it happen, make the people in London listen to what we’re doing. Because this is where it’s at, this is where the creativity is, this is where such original talent is, screenwriters, actors, who drill down into their authentic roots to tell incredible stories and that is what it’s all about.”
Lucy encouraged collaboration between the long-standing rivals of BBC North West Tonight and ITV’s Granada Reports in the future.
She said: “I had an incredible career with Granada Reports, we always had a healthy rivalry with North West Tonight, but one thing I would urge you all to do now is rather than compete with each other is to collaborate with each other, support each other, it’s a tough business to be in.”
She signed off by saying: “I hand over the reins to you guys now, use your talents well, and good luck.”
It was BBC North West Tonight that claimed the title of Best Regional News Programme on the night, and the channel’s Katie Walderman was named Best Journalist in the North West – although she announced on stage that Friday was her last day with the beeb.
The Pre-School Children’s Category was awarded in memory of former controller of Cbeebies Kay Benbow, while the Breakthrough Talent Award was named after comedy legend Caroline Aherne – and won by Hollyoaks’ young star Isabelle Smith.
Cameron Roach, Chair of the RTS North West, said: “The range and breadth of programmes and talent represented really does demonstrate the power of the North West region across all the genres, within the UK industry. Our juries and chairs have commented on the exceptional quality of entries this year.”
RTS NW Awards winners 2024
BEST AUDIO POST PRODUCTION
· Passenger – Mark Briscoe, Peter Warnock, Hannah Fairclough, Gavin Dunn – Picture Shop – ITV
· WINNER Domino Day – Harry Tulley – dock10 – BBC
· Brassic/Series 5 – Emily Nuttall – Core Post – Calamity Productions/Sky Studios
· Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare – Mark Ryder – Picture Shop – Netflix
THE CAROLINE AHERNE AWARD FOR BEST BREAKTHROUGH TALENT
· Vivian Oparah – Dead Hot – Quay Street Productions – Prime Video
· Shini Muthukrishnan – Blue Peter – BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions
· WINNER: Isabelle Smith – Hollyoaks – Lime Pictures
· Mavis Ackerley – Morning Live – BBC Studios
BEST COMEDY PROGRAMME
· Brassic Series 5 – Calamity Films / Sky Studios – Sky
· G’wed – Golden Path Productions – ITV
· WINNER: The Power Of Parker – Boffola Pictures / Lookout Point – BBC
· Inside No.9 Series 9 – BBC Studios Comedy Productions – BBC
BEST CONTINUING DRAMA STORYLINE
· Kelly Jo’s Identity – Waterloo Road – Rope Ladder Fiction / Wall to Wall North – BBC
· WINNER: Paul’s Motor Neurone Disease – Coronation Street – ITV Studios – ITV
· Leela and Joel’s Baby Loss – Hollyoaks – Lime Pictures – Channel 4
· Sibling Sexual Abuse – Hollyoaks – Lime Pictures – Channel 4
BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAMME
WINNER: No Place To Call Home: A Newsround Special – BBC Newsround – BBC
· Panorama: NHS Patients Going Private – What Are The Risks? – Nine Lives Media – BBC
· Murdered At Home – Tonight – MultiStory Media – ITV
BEST DAYTIME PROGRAMME
· Jeopardy! – Whisper North – ITV
· The Cruise: Fun Loving Brits At Sea – Title Role Productions – Channel 5
· Morning Live – BBC Studios – BBC
· WINNER: Four In A Bed: Series 16 – Studio Lambert – Channel 4
BEST DIGITAL CREATIVITY
· WINNER: Hollyoaks – Death Of An Influencer – Lime Pictures for C4
· BBC Teach: micro:bit the next gen/ playground survey – The Connected Set for BBC
· Hollyoaks – ‘What’s Your Normal?’ – Lime Pictures for C4
· Game On! BBC Children In Need – BBC Studios
BEST DRAMA
· WINNER: The Gathering – World Productions – Channel 4
· The Responder 2 – Dancing Ledge Productions – BBC
· Time: Series 2 – BBC Studios – BBC
· After The Flood – Quay Street Productions – ITV
BEST ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
· Wheel Of Fortune – Whisper North – ITV
· Naked Attraction – Studio Lambert – Channel 4
· WINNER: The Voice – Lifted Entertainment – ITV
· University Challenge – Lifted Entertainment – BBC
BEST FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
· Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders – Purple Productions – Channel 5
· WINNER: Abbey Clancy Celebrity Homes – Salamanda Media – ITVBe
· Four In A Bed – Studio Lambert North – Channel 4
· GOATED – Big Deal Films – Channel 4.0
BEST FACTUAL SERIES
· Ambulance Series: 11 – Dragonfly Film & TV – BBC
· Villages By The Sea – Purple Productions – BBC
· Motorway Cops USA – Purple Productions – Channel 5
· WINNER: Morning Live – BBC Studios – BBC
BEST INCLUSIVE PRACTICE: FOR PROGRAMMES WITH DEAF, DISABLED AND/OR NEURODIVERGENT (DDN) CONTRIBUTION
· Blue Peter – BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions- BBC
· WINNER: BBC Morning Live – BBC Studios – BBC
· New Model Agency – Salamanda Media – Channel 4
BEST JOURNALIST IN THE NORTH WEST
· Claire Ryan – BBC Breakfast
· WINNER: Katie Walderman – BBC North West Tonight
· Gill Dummigan – Health Correspondent, BBC North West
· Katie Barnfield – Reporter, BBC North West
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY
· WINNER: Joe Gilgun – Brassic – Calamity Productions / Sky Studios – Sky
· Rosie Cavaliero – The Power of Parker – Boffola Pictures / Lookout Point – BBC
· Conleth Hill – The Power of Parker – Boffola Pictures / Lookout Point – BBC
· Sian Gibson – The Power of Parker – Boffola Pictures / Lookout Point – BBC
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A CONTINUING DRAMA
· Angela Griffin – Waterloo Road – Rope Ladder Fiction / Wall to Wall North – BBC
· Alicia Forde – Waterloo Road – Rope Ladder Fiction / Wall to Wall North – BBC
· WINNER: Peter Ash – Coronation Street – ITV Studios – ITV
· Kirsty Leigh-Porter – Hollyoaks – Lime Pictures – Channel 4
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A DRAMA
· Jodie Whittaker – Time – BBC Studios – BBC
· Jason Isaacs – Archie – ITV Studios – ITV
· WINNER: Eva Morgan – The Gathering – World Productions – Channel 4
· Steve Coogan – The Reckoning – ITV Studios – BBC
THE KAY BENBOW AWARD FOR BEST PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME
· Justin’s House – BBC Studios, Kids & Family Productions – BBC
· BooSnoo! – A Visionality & Mackinnon and Saunders Co-Production – Sky Kids
· Supertato – Moustache Mystery – BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions – Cbeebies
· WINNER: Musical Storyland: The Enormous Turnip – BBC Philharmonic in association with Sustain Video for BBC – Cbeebies
BEST PRESENTER IN THE NORTH WEST
· WINNER: Gethin Jones – BBC Morning Live – BBC
· Gamal Fahnbullah – ITV Granada Reports – ITV
BEST REGIONAL NEWS PROGRAMME
· WINNER: BBC North West Tonight – BBC
· TV Granada Reports – ITV
BEST SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME
· Blue Peter’s 65th Birthday Celebration – BBC Studios Kids and Family
· The Celeb Job Swap Challenge – Lizardfish TV for BBC Bitesize Careers
· WINNER: So Awkward Academy – Channel X North Limited for BBC
· Andy and The Band: Court In The Act – Ninja Pig Productions for BBC
BEST SCRIPT WRITER
· Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton – Inside No. 9 – BBC Studios Comedy Productions
· Danny Brocklehurst – Brassic – Calamity Films / Sky Studios
· Jimmy McGovern & Helen Black – Time – BBC Studios
· WINNER: Helen Walsh – The Gathering – World Productions
BEST SINGLE DOCUMENTARY
· WINNER: There’s Only One Rob Burrow – BBC Breakfast
· Hatton – Noah Media / Sky Documentaries
· Stranger In My Family – Nine Lives Media in association with Polari
· Don’t Ever Stop – Restless Films
BEST SPORTS PROGRAMME
· Together: Treble Winners – City Studios – Netflix
· There’s Only One Rob Burrow – BBC Breakfast – BBC
· WINNER: Hatton – Noah Media / Sky Documentaries – Sky
BEST VISUAL POST PRODUCTION
· Passenger – Max Goldini – Picture Shop
· Archie – Flipbook Studio
· Brassic – Tanvir Hanif – Digital Imaging FX
· WINNER: Domino Day (VFX) – dock10 VFX
JUDGES AWARD
Coronation Street star Helen Worth
THE TONY WILSON AWARD
Granada Reports’ Lucy Meacock
