Royal Television Society Unveils Programme Awards Nominees

The nominees for the 2020 Royal Television Society (RTS) Programme Awards have been announced ahead of the March 17 ceremony, which will be hosted by Paul Merton at The Grosvenor Hotel.

Receiving nominations in the drama series category are Ackley Bridge, The Capture and Gentleman Jack, which also received a nomination for Suranne Jones, who is up against Niamh Algar (The Virtues) and Tamara Lawrance (The Long Song) in the best female actor category. Algar’s The Virtues costar, Stephen Graham, meanwhile, is up against Top Boy star Michael Ward and Jared Harris for Chernobyl. (Competing against Chernobyl for the miniseries award are The Long Song and Years and Years.)

The scripted comedy nominees include Stath Lets Flats, Derry Girls and Fleabag, which also picked up nominations for Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the best female comedy performance category, where Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls) and Diane Morgan (Motherland) are also nominated. Waller-Bridge is also competing in the comedy writer category, facing up against Danny Brocklehurst for Brassic and Sex Education’s Laurie Nunn. Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa has been recognized for best male comedy performance alongside Alex Murphy and Chris Walley (The Young Offenders) and Youssef Kerkour (Home).

The Athena, Step Up to the Plate and Zog are the children’s programs vying for an award. And Breakthrough award nominees include Aisling Bea (This Way Up), Tanya Moodie (Motherland) and Tim Renkow (Jerk).

In the nonfiction space, Britain’s Got Talent is competing against Love Island and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in the entertainment category, while the daytime programs Beat the Chef, Good Morning Britain and The Repair Shop are in competition. Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed, The Last Survivors and Spotlight on The Troubles: A Secret History are nominated in the history category.