Derry Girls and stars of Am I Being Unreasonable? amongst RTS winners
- Scripted Comedy: Derry Girls. Comedy Drama: Brassic. Comedy Entertainment: Friday Night Live
- Comedy Performance (Female): Daisy May Cooper. Supporting Actor: Ambika Mod. Writer: Lisa McGee
- Breakthrough Award & Comedy Performance (Male): Lenny Rush
The Royal Television Society has announced the results of the RTS Programme Awards 2023. The winners were crowned at an awards ceremony last night hosted by Tom Allen. Am I Being Unreasonable? and Derry Girls both picked up multiple awards.
The comedy-related categories are:
Scripted Comedy
In choosing the winner the judges said, "What an incredible show, so brilliantly done. It was thrilling to see it produced so perfectly."
Other nominees: Big Boys, Cunk On Earth.
Comedy Drama
This show, said the judges, "manages to be both funny and moving, with great performances from a supremely authentic cast."
Other nominees: Am I Being Unreasonable?, Cheaters.
Comedy Entertainment
The judges called the winning show "bold, courageous, perfectly balanced and above all very funny."
Other nominees: Joe Lycett's Got Your Back (David Beckham special) and Sorry, I Didn't Know.
Breakthrough Award
Lenny Rush for Am I Being Unreasonable?
The judges described him as "an exhilarating new talent... we can't wait to see what's next for this exciting new star."
Other nominees: Nicôle Lecky (Mood) and Eddie Kadi (Sorry, I Didn't Know).
Comedy Performance (Female)
Daisy May Cooper for Am I Being Unreasonable?
The judges described the performance as "exceptionally funny. No doubt about it, she's got funny bones."
Other nominees: Leah Brotherhead (Hullraisers) and Rose Matafeo (Starstruck).
Comedy Performance (Male)
Lenny Rush for Am I Being Unreasonable?
"A standout talent with comedic timing and style that's spot on in this piece," said the judges.
Other nominees: Samson Kayo (Bloods), Jon Pointing (Big Boys).
Supporting Actor - Female
Ambika Mod for This Is Going To Hurt
Commenting on the winning performance, the judges said, "it was pitch perfect, a study of a woman operating under extraordinary strain laced with humour and charm."
Other nominees: Saffron Hocking (Top Boy), Adelayo Adedayo (The Responder).
Writer - Comedy
The judges remarked on writing that was "absolutely extraordinary - laugh out loud funny, but awe-inspiring too."
Other nominees: Jack Rooke (Big Boys), Sam Leifer and Tom Basden (Plebs).
Children's Programme
"Enjoyable and spectacularly well produced - in fact, a great all-round production," said the judges of the CBBC comedy drama.
Other nominees: COP27: Six Ways to Save Our Planet, Corpse Talk.
Other winners across the 30 categories included The Traitors winning Entertainment Programme, and its host Claudia Winkleman being presented with the Entertainment Performance award. The full list of results can be found on rts.org.uk
Chair of the Awards, Kenton Allen, said: "2022 was a phenomenal year on and off screen. We introduced new categories for Comedy Drama and Supporting Actors to further reflect the incredible range and diversity in the scripted world and I'm thrilled to say that we saw a sensational response, with all of the nominees and winners reflecting an incredible range of creative excellence. As we come together to honour the genre-defining programming from the past year, I am also delighted to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the sensational Sarah Lancashire [winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award] and reveal that the Judges' Award goes to Charlotte Moore for the incredible leadership she has provided the BBC in a remarkable year for innovation, creativity and seismic current affairs. Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners this evening, you are the best of the best and we salute you."