ITV triumphs at RTS NW Awards

Coronation Street beat Hollyoaks and Shameless to Best Continuing Drama with Jane Danson also winning Best Performance for her role as Leanne Barlow. It picked up a third gong for Best Post Production for the live episode featuring the tram crash.

Meanwhile BBC4’s The Road to Coronation Street saw Daran Little pick up Best Script Writer, with the one-off drama also winning Best Production (Craft).

Granada Reports left BBC North West standing, taking home three trophies for Best Regional Story and Regional News Programme as well as Best Onscreen Talent, which went to reporter Rob Smith.

Another gong went to ITV for Scott & Bailey, with Suranne Jones taking the prize for Best Performance in a Drama Series.

The awards, which were presented by Bill Turnbull at Manchster’s Hilton hotel, saw Lime Pictures score a double for TOWIE.

Picking up the award for multiplatform innovation, Lime boss Carolyn Reynolds surprised the audience by thanking “Lime and Conker Media for making a shit series good.”

However, Reynolds has since said that she was misheard: “What I actually said was ‘this series’ but in a crowded and noisy room I can see how it could be perceived I said something different.”

The show also won best entertainment with Reynolds stating: “I did not expect to be getting up to get this award.

“I’ve seen a lot of people exit to London in TV so it’s rich that it’s taken a company in the North West to show Essex what’s really happening.”

Johnny Vegas also took to the stage to collect the award for best performance in a comedy and railed against BBC3 controller Zai Bennett for de-commissioning his series, Ideal.

“Thank you BBC, when the numbers have never been higher, you’ve cancelled us.

“I’m being fired by the man who commissioned Kerry Katona… so I’m proud to do anything else that you’re not involved in.”

A posthumous award went to Warrington-born Pete Postlethwaite with BBC North director Peter Salmon describing him as “a proper one-off.”

He added: He was an actor that looked at the world through Northern eyes. With his untimely death at the age of 63, the Northern Lights got that bit dimmer.”

BBC wins on the night included Dragon’s Den, The Accused and Remembrance: The Sikh Story / Sikh Festival 2010.