17 June 2021
Bauer Media to acquire Imagine Radio
Station will rebrand as Greatest Hits Radio, adding further coverage in Greater Manchester and the East Midlands
Line of Duty leads the pack with four nominations closely followed by hit Netflix drama Bridgerton
It’s A Sin is nominated for best new drama while Olly Alexander is shortlisted for Best Actor
Rob Beckett is announced as awards host
Shortlist voting is open from today until midnight on 25 June
In a bumper year for TV drama BBC One’s Line of Duty has dominated this year’s TV Choice Awards shortlist with four nominations.
The iconic cop drama is nominated for Best Drama Series and the show’s stars have also received individual nods with Vicky McClure in the running for Best Actress and Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar going head-to head for Best Actor.
Racy Regency drama Bridgerton has received three nominations. The series, which made history as the most-watched series on Netflix, could walk away with the Best New Drama accolade to add to its growing list of awards. Meanwhile, the show’s breakout stars Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor are nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.
Streaming has cemented its place in our TV universe, with two Disney+ shows, WandaVision and The Mandalorian, breaking into the shortlist, despite the service launching just 18 months ago. Joining tough competition in the Drama categories are three Netflix programmes – The Queen’s Gambit, The Crown and Bridgerton.
Olly Alexander is nominated for Best Actor in recognition of his critically acclaimed performance as Ritchie Tozer in Russell T Davies’ It’s a Sin (also nominated for Best New Drama), a heart-breaking and memorable depiction of a group of gay men living through the HIV/AIDS crisis.
The Crown and Unforgotten both receive Best Drama nods while Olivia Colman and Nicola Walker are each nominated for their stellar performances in the Best Actress category.
Coronation Street scored triple success last year, but can they do it again? EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks will battle it out once more for the coveted Best Soap award.
Elsewhere, Ant & Dec go head-to-head with Taskmaster, Gogglebox and long-standing rival Graham Norton for Best Entertainment Show, ITV’s daytime juggernauts Loose Women and This Morning look to land the Best Daytime Show, but can they beat Pointless? While in the Best Talent Show category, The Masked Singer takes on Strictly Come Dancing.
Jon Peake, editor of TV Choice magazine commented: “In what’s been a busy year for TV, there was a lot of competition to make the shortlist. Our longlist left no stone un-turned and was the largest we have ever had. Now, readers and viewers have decided who or what constitutes the best of television over the past year and we look forward to seeing who’ll triumph.”
Hosting this year’s 25th anniversary awards is comedian Rob Beckett. Known for his cheeky persona, Rob is set to bring boundless energy and humour to this year’s virtual awards show.
2020’s TV Choice Awards saw Martin Clunes win Best Actor for the first time, Jodie Comer’s Villanelle winning her Best Actress two years in a row. And first wins for Ricky Gervais’ Afterlife, The Martin Lewis Money Show, Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad were celebrated. While classic dramas Call The Midwife and Peaky Blinders added to their awards success.
TV Choice Awards 2021 – Full Shortlist Nominations
BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Crown, Netflix
Death In Paradise, BBC1
Line Of Duty, BBC1
Unforgotten, ITV
BEST FAMILY DRAMA
Call The Midwife, BBC1
Casualty, BBC1
The Mandalorian, Disney+
WandaVision, Disney+
BEST NEW DRAMA
All Creatures Great And Small, C5
Bridgerton, Netflix
It’s A Sin, C4
The Queen’s Gambit, Netflix
BEST ENTERTAINMENT SHOW, IN ASSOCIATION WITH GREATEST HITS RADIO
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, ITV
Gogglebox/Celebrity Gogglebox, C4
The Graham Norton Show, BBC1
Taskmaster, C4
BEST REALITY SHOW
The Circle/The Celebrity Circle For Stand Up To Cancer, C4
First Dates/First Dates Hotel/Teen First Dates, C4/E4
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, ITV
Sam & Billie: The Mummy Diaries, ITVBe
BEST COMEDY
Family Guy, ITV2
Ghosts, BBC1
Not Going Out, BBC1
The Vicar Of Dibley In Lockdown, BBC1
BEST TALENT SHOW
Dancing On Ice, ITV
The Great British Bake Off/The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer/Junior Bake Off, C4
The Masked Singer, ITV
Strictly Come Dancing, BBC1
BEST LIFESTYLE SHOW
DIY SOS: The Big Build, BBC1
Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, C5
Long Lost Family, ITV
The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV
BEST DAYTIME SHOW
The Chase, ITV
Loose Women, ITV
Pointless/Pointless Celebrities, BBC1
This Morning, ITV
BEST ACTOR
Olly Alexander, It’s A Sin, C4
Martin Compston, Line Of Duty, BBC1
Adrian Dunbar, Line Of Duty, BBC1
Regé-Jean Page, Bridgerton, Netflix
BEST ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, The Crown, Netflix
Phoebe Dynevor, Bridgerton, Netflix
Vicky McClure, Line Of Duty, BBC1
Nicola Walker, Unforgotten, ITV
BEST FACTUAL SHOW
24 Hours In A&E, C4
24 Hours In Police Custody, C4
Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad, ITV
Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs, ITV
BEST FOOD SHOW
Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, National Geographic
James Martin’s Saturday Morning, ITV
Saturday Kitchen, BBC1
Sunday Brunch, C4
BEST SOAP ACTOR
Danny Dyer, Mick Carter, EastEnders, BBC1
Chris Gascoyne, Peter Barlow, Coronation Street, ITV
Bradley Johnson, Vinny Dingle, Emmerdale,, ITV
David Neilson, Roy Cropper, Coronation Street, ITV
BEST SOAP ACTRESS
Sally Carman, Abi Franklin, Coronation Street, ITV
Kellie Bright, Linda Carter, EastEnders, BBC1
Shelley King, Yasmeen Metcalfe, Coronation Street, ITV
Isobel Steele, Liv Flaherty, Emmerdale ITV
BEST SOAP
Coronation Street, ITV
EastEnders, BBC1
Emmerdale, ITV
Hollyoaks, C4
– ENDS –
Notes to Editors:
TV Choice is Britain’s biggest-selling magazine. Its popular TV Choice Awards, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, honours the nation’s favourite TV shows and stars and is voted purely by an audience of 600,000+ TV fans.
The 2021 TV Choice Awards longlist nominations were open for voting from 4 May until midnight on 21 May. The shortlist nominations are decided by these votes alone.
Shortlist voting is open from today until midnight on 25 June.
This year’s winners will be announced online at www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk during a virtual awards ceremony on 6 September. Fans will have the chance to watch the reactions of the winning programmes and stars as the evening unfolds.
For media enquiries please contact Jess Blake, Communications Director, UK Publishing
Jess.blake@bauermedia.co.uk / 07739 516345
For all other awards enquiries please contact:
Linda Steventon – linda@thetvawards.co.uk – 07939 082601
About Bauer Media UK:
Bauer Media UK reaches over 25 million UK consumers through a portfolio of world-class, multi-platform media and entertainment brands including TV Choice, heat, KISS, Grazia, Empire, Magic, Absolute Radio and the Hits Radio Network brand. These brands offer commercial partners access to highly engaged audiences, with creative solutions underpinned by insight and instinct. Bauer Media UK is part of the Bauer Media Group, one of the world’s largest privately owned media businesses with media assets all over the globe.
About Rob Beckett:
Rob Beckett burst onto the comedy circuit 10 years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Besides being known as the unmistakable voice of Celebs Go Dating, he’s also been a team captain on Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats. In 2019 Rob co-hosted The Royal Variety Performance with Romesh Ranganathan, the first time two fellow comedians had hosted the event together in over 30 years. His cheeky persona has also seen him host Children in Need and Comic Relief. Other TV shows include multiple appearances on BBC One’s Live At The Apollo, Would I Lie To You?, The Graham Norton Show, All Round To Mrs Brown’s, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Sky One’s A League of Their Own, Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats and Cats Does Countdown, BBC Two’s Mock The Week, ITV’s Play to The Whistle, The Jonathan Ross Show, ITV Two’s Celebrity Juice, and Dave’s Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier, Taskmaster, and Hypothetical.
14 June 2021
Simon Mayo Awarded MBE and Skin Receives OBE in Queen’s Birthday Honour List
Bauer Media Audio UK’s, Simon Mayo has been awarded an MBE for services tobroadcasting, while Skin received an OBE for services to music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List
