The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) proudly announces the nominations for its prestigious annual BPG Awards, celebrating the very best in British Television, Streaming and Audio.

This year’s shortlist reflects a compelling mix of gripping dramas, thought-provoking documentaries, groundbreaking comedy, and innovative entertainment. From the real-life scandal of Mr Bates vs The Post Office to the dark obsession of Baby Reindeer, the revelatory insights of On Thin Ice: Putin v Greenpeace, and the emotional depth of The Piano, the nominees showcase the power of storytelling in all its forms. With standout performances from acclaimed actors and emerging talents alike, the BPG Awards continue to highlight excellence and originality in the last year of Television, Streaming and Audio. The winners will be presented with their awards at an exclusive ceremony on Thursday 20th March in London.

The huge real-world impact of Mr Bates vs The Post Office means ITV’s hit drama leads the way in this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards – with nominations for Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Monica Dolan, Best Actor for Toby Jones and Best Writer for Gwyneth Hughes. Meanwhile, Wolf Hall, Baby Reindeer, Rivals and Gavin & Stacey are all acknowledged three times by the BPG’s members.

The BPG’s two drama categories are once again among the most hotly contested. Rivals (Disney+), Day of the Jackal (Peacock / Sky Atlantic) and Baby Reindeer (Netflix) are joined on the Best Drama Series (4+ episodes) shortlist by the mesmerising final series of Wolf Hall (BBC1) and ITV1’s outstanding Mr Bates vs The Post Office – the first time the streaming giants have outnumbered terrestrial shows in this category.

The breadth of British drama, across the full range of streamers and channels, is also reflected in the Single Drama or Mini-Series (1-3 episodes) category. There’s a right royal rumble as two shows depicting the Newsnight interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew – Scoop (Netflix) and A Very Royal Scandal (Prime) – go head-to-head, with Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (BBC1/Netflix) and ITV1’s Covid drama Breathtaking offering contrasting alternative nominees.

It was also an outstanding year for documentaries. Michael Palin: Into Nigeria (C5) and Netflix’s miners’ strike film Strike: The Uncivil War, joined by two BBC2 docs – Surviving Oct 7th: We Will Dance Again and Boybands Forever – that show the range of output on the channel. There was a BBC clean sweep in the Best Documentary Series category – with Asia, Freddie Flintoff: Field of Dreams on Tour and Mammals (BBC1) plus On Thin Ice: Putin v Greenpeace (BBC2) winning BPG members’ votes.

BPG members remain faithful to last year’s winner The Traitors (BBC1), as it receives its second successive nomination alongside The Piano (Channel 4) in the Best Entertainment category. Clarkson’s Farm (Prime) and four-time BPG Award-winner Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (BBC2) complete a competitive category.

A strong year for drama on Netflix is recognised in the Best Actress category with Jessica Gunning, whose star-making performance in Baby Reindeer won worldwide acclaim and Ambika Mod’s starring role in One Day making the shortlist alongside Katherine Parkinson for her brilliance in Disney+’s Rivals. Monica Dolan showcased her range in contrasting roles in BBC1’s Sherwood and Mr Bates vs the Post Office on ITV, while Anna Maxwell Martin did likewise in BBC1 hit Ludwig, ITV’s haunting true-life drama Until I Kill You and Gavin and Stacey: The Finale.

A strong Best Actor category features Danny Dyer’s nuanced and powerful performance in Rivals (Disney+) alongside Mark Rylance reprising arguably his greatest role as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC1), plus Lennie James’s affecting and important starring role in Mr Loverman (BBC1), Toby Jones’s heroic depiction of Alan Bates in Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV) and Eddie Redmayne’s barnstorming return to television in Peacock/Sky Atlantic’s Day of the Jackal.

Inside No 9 (BBC2) has been a regular a contender for BPG Best Comedy (this time for its incredible final series) and this year takes on another classic that is coming to an end, BBC1’s ratings-buster Gavin and Stacey: The Finale. Ghosts (BBC1) for its final series; superhero show The Franchise (HBO/Sky) and BBC Three’s brilliant Boarders complete a strong category.

In the Best Writer category, Sophie Willan, whose series Alma’s Not Normal won Best Comedy in 2022, is nominated for its outstanding second series, while Joe Barton (Black Doves, Netflix), Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer, Netflix), Gwyneth Hughes (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, ITV1) and Peter Straughan (Wolf Hall, BBC1) also did well with BPG members.

Every year two TV awards are given out by the BPG Executive Committee. The annual BPG Breakthrough Talent Award features outstanding young acting stars Levi Brown (This Town) and Bella Maclean (Rivals) alongside writer-actors Kyla Harris (We Might Regret This), Michelle de Swarte (Spent) and Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer), while the BPG Emerging Creators Award nominees for 2025 are inspirational social media science creator Big Manny and influencer and podcaster Ash Holme, who also fronted ITV1’s series Ash Holme: What Not To Do With Dad last year.

In the Audio Awards five women are in contention in the Best Radio Presenter category, Sara Cox (Drive-Time Show, BBC Radio 2), Paula Harriott (The Secret Life of Prisons, Prison Radio Association), Ellen E Jones (Screenshot, BBC Radio 4), Jenny Kleeman (The Gift, BBC Radio 4), Kate Molleson (Composer of the Week, BBC Radio 3; live BBC Radio 3 concerts; Front Row, Radio 4).

Four of the five nominations in the UK Podcast of the Year category have taken a dark turn covering some of the murkier subjects of society from the depths of the darknet in Wondery’s Kill List, the mysterious world of spies and espionage with The Rest is Classified (David McCloskey, Gordon Corera, Goalhanger), into the dramatic hunt for one of Europe’s most-wanted people smugglers in To Catch a Scorpion (BBC Sounds), and a new adaptation of dystopian novel 1984 (Audible) as a new podcast series with Cynthia Erivo and Andrew Garfield. On a lighter side, How to Write a Book (Sara Collins, Sharmaine Lovegrove and Nelle Andrew, Daylight Productions) gives budding writers how-to tips, examples, and inspiration.

BBC leads the way in the Best Radio Programme, dominating the category with The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag (BBC Radio 4), Short Cuts (BBC Radio 4), Sport’s Strangest Crimes: Confessions of a Match Fixer (BBC Radio 5 Live) and Three Million (BBC Radio 4) all in the mix.

The BPG Awards 2025 full nominations are listed below.

BPG Chair Manori Ravindran said: “Celebrating the bold, the brilliant, and the unforgettable, the 2025 BPG Awards nominations highlight the power of storytelling across television, streaming, and audio. Coveted by the industry, these awards stand apart as they are chosen independently by the experts who cover TV and audio for a living—the critics, correspondents, and writers of the UK media. We’re delighted to bring back the BPG Awards as a newly imagined evening event this year and look forward to toasting the bright lights of the industry on March 20.”

The Harvey Lee Award and other Special Awards will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Broadcasting Press Guild marked its 50th anniversary last year. The Guild began in 1974 and continues to bring together the best TV and audio writers, industry correspondents, critics and previewers. The BPG Television, Streaming & Audio Awards are for work commissioned or produced in the UK and screened in 2024. These prizes are highly valued by programme-makers because they are chosen independently by the BPG’s expert members.