Lenny Henry to receive Outstanding title at Edinburgh TV Awards 2025
The nominations for the Edinburgh TV Festival Awards 2025 have been announced, and it's been revealed that Sir Lenny Henry will be presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award at the ceremony.
The organisers say: "A pioneering talent, Sir Lenny has captivated audiences for five decades through his comedy, presenting, writing and acting", adding "Beyond his on-screen achievements, he has been an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the industry, using his platform - and his television production company Esmerelda - to champion underrepresented voices and drive meaningful change. His co-founding of Comic Relief has raised over £1 billion for global causes since 1985, and he has established a centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University, highlighting his profound impact beyond entertainment. This award honours not only his creative brilliance but also his commitment to making television a more inclusive and inspiring space for all."
Henry comments: "I'd like to thank the Edinburgh TV Festival and all who sail in her for this magnificent honour. I'm very humbled to receive it and will wear a kilt and go commando to celebrate. Excelsior. Big love."
The comedy-related nominations are:
Best Comedy Series
Best TV Actor - Comedy
Anjana Vasan for We Are Lady Parts
Lucy Punch for Amandaland
Nabhaan Rizwan for Kaos
Oliver Savell for Changing Ends
Sophie Willan for Alma's Not Normal
The Best Entertainment Series category includes Last One Laughing UK, Taskmaster and The Graham Norton Show. Meanwhile Ashley Storrie, Bella Maclean, Sekou Diaby and Thaddea Graham are in the Breakthrough Talent list and Munya Chawawa, Graham Norton, Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan feature in the TV presenting categories.
The results will be revealed on Thursday 21st August as part of the Edinburgh TV Festival in a ceremony hosted by Nick Mohammed. He comments: "I honestly couldn't be more thrilled and honoured to be hosting the TV Festival awards this year. I can't promise Mr Swallow won't make an appearance but - frankly - given how well he went down at the Bafta Film Awards last year, surely this can't go any worse. But good luck everyone!"
The nominees across all categories can be seen via thetvfestival.com