‘Happy Valley’ & ‘Slow Horses’ Dominate BPG Award Noms In London Event’s 50th Year

Happy Valley, Slow Horses and BBC drama The Sixth Commandment dominate the nominations for this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) Awards, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The final season of the BBC/AMC+ epic thriller has picked up four nods, for Best Drama Series, lead Sarah Lancashire, James Norton and Sally Wainwright.

Happy Valley is contesting for the prestigious Drama Series award alongside BBC triple The Sixth Commandment, Boiling Point and The Woman in the Wall, along with Apple TV+ smash Slow Horses. The latter has also picked up nods for lead Gary Oldman and writer Will Smith.

In the acting categories, Oldman and Norton are up against Timothy Spall, Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa – the new Doctor in Doctor Who – and Steve Coogan for his role as Jimmy Savile in the BBC’s controversial The Reckoning.

Stars including Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown), Ruth Wilson (The Woman in the Wall) and Daisy May Cooper (Rain Dogs) are up against Lancashire for Best Actress.

Elsewhere, Russell T Davies has a nod for Best Writer for ITV’s Nolly and the new Doctor Who, while a competitive Breakthrough Talent Award is being contested by The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey, Rye Lane’s David Jonsson and Kat Sadler, the writer of nominated BBC comedy Such Brave Girls.

The 50th BPG Awards will take place at Royal Horseguards Hotel in London on March 21.

The nominations in full

Best Single Drama or Mini-Series 1-3 EPS

Black Mirror: Demon 79 (Netflix)

Nolly (ITV)

Partygate (Channel 4)

Stonehouse (ITV)

Time S2 (BBC One)

Best Single Documentary or Mini- Series 1-3 EPS

Russell Brand: In Plain Sight – Dispatches (Channel 4)

Chris Packham: Is It Time To Break The Law? (Channel 4)

David Harewood on Blackface (BBC Two)

WHAM! (Netflix)

Best Documentary Series (4+ EPS)

Beckham (Netflix)

Lockerbie (Sky)

Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland (BBC Two)

Putin vs the West (BBC Two)

Union with David Olusoga: The Making of Britain (BBC Two)

Best Drama Series (4+ EPS)

Boiling Point (BBC One)

Happy Valley S3 (BBC One)

Slow Horses S3 (Apple+)

The Sixth Commandment (BBC One)

The Woman In The Wall (BBC One)

Best Comedy

Dreaming Whilst Black (BBC Three)

Extraordinary (Disney+)

Ghosts S5 (BBC One)

Inside No 9 S8 (BBC Two)

Such Brave Girls (BBC Three)

Best Entertainment (Including Factual Entertainment)

Eurovision coverage across week on BBC

My Mum Your Dad (ITV)

The Piano (Channel 4)

Race Across The World S3 (BBC One)

Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix)

Best Actor

Gary Oldman – Slow Horses S3

James Norton – Happy Valley S3

Ncuti Gatwa – Sex Education S4/Doctor Who S14

Steve Coogan – The Reckoning

Timothy Spall – The Sixth Commandment

Best Actress

Daisy May Cooper – Rain Dogs

Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown S6

Sarah Lancashire – Happy Valley S3

Ruth Wilson – The Woman in the Wall

Vinette Robinson – Boiling Point/Six Four/The Lazarus Project

Best Writer

Kat Sadler – Such Brave Girls

Russell T Davies – Nolly/Doctor Who S14

Sally Wainwright – Happy Valley S3

Sarah Phelps – The Sixth Commandment

Will Smith – Slow Horses S3

BPG Breakthrough Talent Award

Bella Ramsey – Time

David Jonsson – Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy

Kat Sadler – Such Brave Girls

BPG Emerging Creators Award

Amelia Dimoldenberg – comedian, interviewer and host of Chicken Shop Date

GK Barry – social media influencer and presenter

Mawaan Rizwan – actor for Dr Who and Juice