It was voted the best TV moment of 2015 but Aidan Turner’s topless scything in Poldark failed to cut it with the Royal Television Society which ignored the BBC1 drama in the nominations for its 2016 awards.
Another shock was Wolf Hall star Mark Rylance, who won an Oscar this week for his role in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies but failed to earn a nod for the BBC2 drama in the nominations announced on Thursday.
Wolf Hall was nominated twice - for best drama serial and another of its stars Claire Foy for best female actor. But there was nothing for Poldark, one of the most talked about dramas of last year.
Sci-fi drama Humans and Paul Abbott’s No Offence, both on Channel 4, will compete with BBC2’s The Last Kingdom for best drama series.
Wolf Hall will go head to head with ITV’s The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies and Channel 4’s This Is England ’90 for best drama serial.
Foy will do battler with Suranne Jones, star of BBC’1’s Doctor Foster, and Claire Rushbrook from ITV’s Home Fires in the female actor category.
Two giants of stage and screen will compete for the male actor prize - Anthony Hopkins for his role in BBC2’s The Dresser and Tom Courtenay, star of ITV’s Unforgotten. They are joined by Adam Long from BBC3’s Don’t Take My Baby.
There was a hat-trick of nominations for Peter Kay’s BBC comedy, Car Share, which premiered on the BBC’s iPlayer before airing on BBC1.
Channel 4 had by far the most nominations with 23, with a further three for E4 and another for Welsh language channel, S4C.
ITV had 11, ahead of BBC1 with eight (rising to 11 if Car Share is included).
BBC2 had nine nominations, with BBC3 five and three for BBC4. Sky had a total of five nominations.
Awards chair Alex Mahon said the make-up of the juries which decided the nominations had been made more diverse with more women and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representatives to better reflect audiences.
“I am delighted as the new chairman to share the news that we have substantially changed the make-up of the judging chairs and the juries to a pattern that I feel is now more representative of Britain and of our viewers,” said Mahon.
“This year, of the 200 or so jurors, we moved to 52% female and 27% BAME. Talking to the chairs it was clear that the tone of the conversations in the jury rooms changed for the better too. Making this change was relatively simple because the high quality talent we need was easy to find and in plentiful supply.”
Royal Television Society awards - nominations in full
Actor – Female
Claire Foy – Wolf Hall A Company Pictures and Playground Entertainment Production for BBC2
Claire Rushbrook – Home Fires A co-production of ITV Studios and Masterpiece for ITV
Suranne Jones – Doctor Foster Drama Republic for BBC1
Actor – Male
Adam Long – Don’t Take My Baby BBC Documentaries Production for BBC3
Anthony Hopkins – The Dresser Playground Entertainment for BBC2
Tom Courtenay – Unforgotten Mainstreet Pictures for ITV
Arts
Grayson Perry’s Dream House Swan Films for Channel 4
Handmade BBC Scotland Arts Production for BBC4
Hockney A Blakeway and Fly Film Production for BBC2
Breakthrough
Michaela Coel – Chewing Gum Retort Television for E4
Richard Bentley – The Stranger on the Bridge Postcard Productions for Channel 4
Sian Gibson – Peter Kay’s Car Share Goodnight Vienna Productions for BBC iPlayer
Children’s Programme
Lily’s Driftwood Bay – Goodbye Seabird Sixteen South for Nick Junior
My Life: I Am Leo Nine Lives Media for CBBC
The Dumping Ground CBBC Productions
Comedy Performance
Michaela Coel – Chewing Gum Retort Television for E4
Nick Helm – Uncle Baby Cow Productions for BBC3
Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney – Catastrophe Avalon Television for Channel 4
Daytime Programme
Judge Rinder ITV Studios for ITV
Posh Pawnbrokers Boomerang for Channel 4
This Morning ITV Studios for ITV
Documentary Series
Reggie Yates’ Extreme Russia Sundog Pictures for BBC3
The Detectives Minnow Films for BBC2
The Romanians Are Coming Keo Films for Channel 4
Drama Serial
The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies Carnival Films for ITV
This Is England ‘90 Warp Films for Channel 4
Wolf Hall A Company Pictures and Playground Entertainment Production for BBC2
Drama Series
Humans Kudos Film & TV for Channel 4
No Offence Abbott Vision for Channel 4
The Last Kingdom Carnival Films for BBC2
Entertainment
Release the Hounds Gogglebox Entertainment for ITV2
The Graham Norton Show So Television for BBC1
The Last Leg Open Mike Productions for Channel 4
Entertainment Performance
Adam Hills – The Last Leg Open Mike Productions for Channel 4
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!/ Britain’s Got Talent/Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway ITV Studios/Thames and Syco/ITV Studios and Mitre Television for ITV
Jack Whitehall – A League Of Their Own CPL Productions for Sky 1
History
Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners BBC History Production for BBC2
Dagrau o Waed: Rhyfel Corea Awen Media/JTV for S4C
Holocaust: Night Will Fall Spring Films for Channel 4
Live Event
Alternative General Election with Jeremy Paxman Zeppotron/ITN for Channel 4
BRIT Awards 2015 BRITs TV for ITV
VE Day 70: The Nation Remembers BBC Events Production for BBC1
Popular, Factual and Features
DIY SOS: Homes For Veterans BBC Features Production for BBC1
First Dates Twenty Twenty for Channel 4
SAS: Who Dares Wins Minnow Films for Channel 4
Presenter
David Olusoga – Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners BBC History Production for BBC2
Grayson Perry – Grayson Perry’s Dream House Swan Films for Channel 4
Reggie Yates – Reggie Yates’ Extreme Russia Sundog Pictures for BBC3
Science and Natural History
Big Blue Live BBC Natural History Production for BBC1
Japan: Earth’s Enchanted Islands BBC Natural History Production for BBC2
Oak Tree: Nature’s Greatest Survivor Furnace TV for BBC4
Scripted Comedy
Catastrophe Avalon Television for Channel 4
People Just Do Nothing Roughcut TV for BBC3
Peter Kay’s Car Share Goodnight Vienna Productions for BBC iPlayer
Single Documentary
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief Jigsaw Productions for Sky Atlantic
My Son The Jihadi True Vision Productions for Channel 4
Storyville: India’s Daughter Assassin Films for BBC4
Single Drama
Black Mirror: White Christmas Zeppotron for Channel 4
Coalition Cuba Pictures for Channel 4
Cyberbully Raw Television for Channel 4
Soap and Continuing Drama
Coronation Street ITV Studios for ITV
EastEnders BBC Drama Production London for BBC1
Emmerdale ITV Studios for ITV
Sports Presenter, Commentator or Pundit
Alan Shearer BBC Sport for BBC1
David Coulthard BBC Sport for BBC1
Gary Neville – Monday Night Football Sky Sports
Sports Programme
Champions League Goals Show BT Sport
Monday Night Football Sky Sports
The Ashes Sky Sports
Writer – Comedy
Michaela Coel – Chewing Gum Retort Television for E4
Peter Kay, Sian Gibson, Paul Coleman & Tim Reid – Peter Kay’s Car Share Goodnight Vienna Productions for BBC iPlayer
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan – Catastrophe Avalon Television for Channel 4
Writer – Drama
Russell T. Davies – Cucumber Red Production Company for Channel 4
Peter Morgan – The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies Carnival Films for ITV
Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne – This Is England ‘90 Warp Films for Channel 4
Judges’ Award
The winner of this Award will be announced on the night
Lifetime Achievement Award
The winner of this Award will be announced on the night
