Live event to take place on 6 October at The Brewery, London

digi awards

The shortlist for the Broadcast Digital Awards 2021 has been unveiled – including three categories designed to uncover the best programmes made under lockdown.

Some 18 shows are competing across Best Lockdown Programme – Comedy, Entertainment & Scripted, Documentary and Popular Factual after The Ranganation, Springtime on the Farm and Dim Ysgol won in similar categories at the Broadcast Awards in May.

Last year, Firecracker was named the first Best Multiplatform Production Company and the category returns this year with six indies competing - Air TV, Barcroft Studios, Fulwell73 Productions, Monkey Kingdom, Strawberry Blond TV and Sunset+Vine.

The winners will be unveiled at a live event on 6 October in The Brewery, after the awards were streamed online last year.

For more information and to book a table please click here.

Best Comedy Programme

  • Brassic, Calamity Films for Sky One
  • Famalam, BBC Studios for BBC Three
  • Meet the Richardsons at Christmas, Second Act Productions for Dave
  • Scot Squad, The Comedy Unit for BBC Scotland
  • The Emily Atack Show, Monkey Kingdom for ITV
  • The Young Offenders, Vico Films for BBC Three

 

Best Content Partnership or AFP

  • Beats by Dr.Dre | Informal, Untold Studios for YouTube
  • Mission: Accessible, Rockerdale for Channel 4 (4Studio)
  • Romeo & Juliet, National Theatre in association with Sabel Productions/Cuba Pictures for Sky Arts
  • The Open University Playlist, The Open University for BBC Ideas
  • The Third Day: Autumn, Sky Studios/Plan B Entertainment/Punchdrunk /HBO for Sky Arts
  • Virgin Media’s V Festival 2020, Twofour for ITV2

 

Best Digital Children’s Content

  • Bitesize Daily/Lockdown Learning, BBC Education for BBC iPlayer/Red Button
  • FYI Investigates – Brazil: Children Caught in the Crossfire, Fresh Start Media Productions for Sky News/Sky Kids
  • It’s Pony, Blue Zoo Animation for Nickelodeon
  • JoJo & Gran Gran, BBC Children’s Productions for CBeebies
  • Maddie, Space and You, Wonder Television for CBeebies
  • What’s on Your Head?, Gold Wala for CBeebies

 

Best Digital Support for a Programme

  • Hollyoaks, Lime Pictures for Channel 4
  • It’s a Sin, 4Studio/4Creative/Spirit Digital for Channel 4
  • Life Drawing Live: Pose Cam, Avanti for BBC Four
  • Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK, World of Wonder Productions for BBC Three
  • Springwatch 2020, BBC Studios Natural History Unit for BBC Two
  • The Masked Singer, Bandicoot TV/StoryHunter for ITV

 

Best Digital Support for a Strand, Channel or Genre

  • Blue Peter’s 6 Badges of Summer, BBC Children’s In House Productions/ BBC Children’s Website Team for CBBC
  • Campaign Against Living Miserably: Masks, Dave for Dave
  • Channel 4 News, ITN for Channel 4
  • Comedians in Quarantine, Comedy Central for Comedy Central
  • Fans Reunited, BT Sport for BT Sport
  • Sky News Investigates, Sky News for Sky News

 

Best Documentary Programme

  • Art of Persia, BBC Studios for BBC Four
  • Catch Her If You Can, BBC Original Journalism Unit for BBC Three
  • Locked In: Breaking the Silence, Marble Films (Bristol) for BBC Four
  • Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency, Twofour for BBC Three
  • Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb, Lion Television in association with At Land Productions for Netflix
  • Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn, Summer Films for BBC Three

 

Best Drama Programme

  • A Discovery of Witches, Bad Wolf for Sky One
  • Gangs of London, Pulse Films/Sister for Sky Atlantic
  • I Hate Suzie, Bad Wolf for Sky Atlantic
  • In My Skin, Expectation Entertainment for BBC Three
  • Romeo & Juliet, National Theatre in association with Sabel Productions/Cuba Pictures for Sky Arts
  • Save Me Too, World Productions for Sky Atlantic

 

Best Entertainment Programme

  • Dating No Filter, Monkey Kingdom for Sky
  • Don’t Hate the Playaz, Monkey Kingdom for ITV2
  • Life & Rhymes, CPL Productions/Licklmore for Sky Arts
  • Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, Expectation for Dave
  • Rob & Romesh Vs…, CPL Productions for Sky One
  • The Rap Game UK, Naked TV for BBC Three/BBC iPlayer

 

Best Factual Channel

  • More 4
  • Sky Documentaries
  • Sky History
  • Yesterday

 

Best Lockdown Programme - Comedy, Entertainment & Scripted

  • A League of their Own, CPL Productions for Sky One
  • Don’t Hate the Playaz, Monkey Kingdom for ITV2
  • How’s Your Head, Hun?, World of Wonder Productions for BBC Three
  • InterConnected: Salvation Calling, BBC Writersroom for BBC Writersroom Website
  • Lockdown Juice, Talkback (a Fremantle label) for ITV2
  • There’s Something About Movies, CPL Productions and Motion Content Group for Sky One

 

Best Lockdown Programme – Documentary

  • 999: On The Frontline, Curve Media for More 4
  • Crowd1 – Unmasking the Pyramid Kings, BBC Africa Eye for BBC World/BBC iPlayer/BBC Africa YouTube
  • If I Can’t Have You: The Jodi Arias Story, Arrow Media for Investigation Discovery
  • JonBenet Ramsey: What Really Happened?, Arrow Media for Investigation Discovery
  • Life in a Day 2020, RSA Films in association with Flying Object for YouTube
  • O.J. and Nicole: An American Tragedy, Arrow Media for Investigation Discovery

 

Best Lockdown Programme - Popular Factual

  • Emma Willis: Delivering Babies in 2020, Firecracker Films for W
  • Life Drawing Live!: Drawing the Nation Together, Avanti for BBC Four
  • My Mate’s a Muslim, Gold Wala for BBC Three
  • My Place on Earth, BBC Studios Natural History Unit for BBC Earth
  • The Big Scottish Book Club, IWC Media for BBC Scotland
  • Tom Kerridge Barbecues, Blink Films for Food Network

 

Best Original Web Channel

  • LADbible TV
  • Mashed
  • RE:TV
  • Simon’s Cat
  • Springwatch Facebook
  • Truly

 

Best Popular Factual Programme

  • Big Zuu’s Big Eats, Boomerang for Dave
  •  Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star, Wall to Wall Media for BBC Three
  • Teen First Dates, Twenty Twenty TV for E4
  • The Great British Dig, Strawberry Blond for More 4
  • The Rap Game UK, Naked for BBC Three
  • Together We Rise, Warner Music Entertainment for YouTube

 

Best Programme Acquisition

  • Canada’s Drag Race, World of Wonder Productions for BBC Three
  • Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America, AMC for BBC Four
  • Spiral, Son et Lumiere for BBC Four
  • Twin, Nordisk Film for BBC Four
  • We Are Who We Are, HBO/Sky Series with The Apartment and Wildside (both part of Fremantle) and Small Forward for BBC Three
  • Why Women Kill, CBS Studios/Imagine Television Studios for Alibi

 

Best Short Form Scripted

  • CripTales, BBC Studios for BBC Four
  • New Creatives: Aisle 17, Molly Jones/Scott Parkin/Rural Media for New Creatives for BBC iPlayer/Social Media
  • Pls Like, Baby Cow Productions/ Left Bank Pictures for BBC Three
  • Pru, Fully Focused Community Trust for BBC Three
  • Sparklers, Big Deal Films for BBC iPlayer
  • The B@it, Mother’s Best Child for Channel 4 (4Studio)

 

Best Short-Form Documentary

  • I Was There, LADstudios for LADbible TV
  • Inside Cinema, Little Dot for BBC iPlayer
  • Off Limits: Do We Have a Problem with Afro Hair?, Sky News for Sky News on Snapchat, Sky News YouTube Channel, Sky News App/Website
  • The Boy Who Climbed the Shard, Parable for Channel 4 (4Studio)
  • The Myth of Race, Daniel Nils Roberts for the OU for BBC Ideas
  • TUNE| The Story of Bits and Pieces, Multiplatform Productions for BBC Scotland

 

Best Short-Form Format

  • Generation Change: Black Lives Matter, MTV for MTV
  • Lesbians: Random Acts, Rosemary Baker (independent) for All 4
  • Minutes With, LADstudios for LADbible TV
  • Pete and Sam’s Reality News, Monkey Kingdom for E4
  • Served! with Jade Thirlwall, MTV for MTV
  • Your Wi-Fi Router, Peninsula Films for Pulped.com/YouTube

 

Best Specialist Channel

  • BBC Four
  • CBeebies
  • Crime+Investigation
  • History Hit
  • Sky Arts
  • Sky News

 

Best Sports or Live Event Coverage

  • A Day in the Live, Electric Robin/Fly on the Wall for YouTube
  • England v France – The Final of the Autumn Nations Cup, Sunset+Vine for Amazon Prime Video
  • ENO’s Drive & Live: La Bohème, Somethin’ Else for Sky Arts
  • MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix 2020, North One for BT Sport 2
  • Super League Triathlon London Arena Games 2021, Aurora Media Worldwide for 35 Broadcasters Worldwide incl BBC Red Button/Eurosport
  • The Third Day: Autumn, Sky Studios/Plan B Entertainment/Punchdrunk/HBO for Sky Arts

 

Channel of the Year

  • BBC Scotland
  • BBC Three
  • CBeebies
  • Dave
  • More 4
  • Sky News

 

Channel of the Year (Non PSB Group)

  • Comedy Central
  • Crime+Investigation
  • Dave
  • Gold
  • Sky Atlantic

 

Gamechanger Programme of the Year

  • Big Zuu’s Big Eats, Boomerang for Dave
  • Life & Rhymes , CPL Productions/Licklmore for Sky Arts
  • Meet the Richardsons at Christmas, Second Act Productions for Dave
  • The Third Day: Autumn, Sky Studios/Plan B Entertainment/Punchdrunk/HBO for Sky Arts
  • Ultimate Goal – Inspiring Diversity in Sport, ZigZag Productions for Insight TV/BT Sport
  • We Hunt Together, BBC Studios for Alibi

 

Multichannel Production Company of the Year

  • Air TV
  • Barcroft Studios
  • Fulwell73 Productions
  • Monkey Kingdom
  • Strawberry Blond TV
  • Sunset+Vine