The British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Original Music is one of the categories presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) within the British Academy Television Craft Awards, the craft awards were established in 2000 with their own, separate ceremony as a way to spotlight technical achievements, without being overshadowed by the main production categories.
It was first awarded in 1981, according to the BAFTA website, a programme will be eligible to this category if "more than 50% of its music is original composition created specifically for it."
In 2023, the category was split into two categories: Original Music: Fiction and Original Music: Factual.
Winners and nominees 1980s Year Title Recipient(s)1981 The Merchant of VeniceFair Stood The Wind For FranceLove StoryOppenheimerHollywoodThe MisanthropeThe Sailor's ReturnThe Old Curiosity Shop Carl Davis Enemy at the DoorPride and Prejudice Wilfred Josephs Fox (Incidental)ShoestringBloody Kids George Fenton FlickersShelleyTales Of The Unexpected Ron Grainer1982 BergeracGoing GentlyThe History ManBBC News Theme George Fenton Brideshead Revisited Geoffrey Burgon Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years Carl Davis The Flame Trees of Thika Ken Howard, Alan Blaikely1983 Smiley's PeopleI Remember NelsonThe Woman in White Patrick Gowers Harry's Game Clannad The Flight of the Condor Inti-Illimani A Voyage Round My FatherMonaThe Bell Marc Wilkinson1984 An Englishman AbroadSaigon: Year of the CatLoving WalterWalter and JuneThe Ghost WriterBreakfast TimeNatural WorldVillage Earth George Fenton The AerodromeMacbethThe Spice Of LifeThe Tale Of Beatrix PotterUnknown Chaplin Carl Davis Auf Wiedersehen, Pet David Mackay Reilly, Ace of Spies Harry Rabinowitz1985 Robin of Sherwood Clannad The Ebony Tower Richard Rodney Bennett The Far Pavilions Carl Davis The Jewel in the Crown George Fenton1986 Edge of Darkness Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen Kingdom of the Ice Bear Terry Oldfield Silas Marner Carl Davis Tender is the Night Richard Rodney Bennett1987 The Monocled Mutineer George Fenton Fire and Ice Carl Davis Hotel Du Lac The Insurance Man Ilona Sekacz The Life and Loves of a She-Devil Peter Filleul Lost Empires Derek Hilton1988 Porterhouse Blue Christopher Gunning, Rick Lloyd The Beiderbecke Tapes Frank Ricotti Fortunes of War Richard Holmes A Perfect Spy Michael Storey1989 The Beiderbecke Connection Frank Ricotti Talking Heads George Fenton Tumbledown Richard Hartley A Very British Coup John Keane
1990s Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster1990 Agatha Christie's Poirot Christopher Gunning ITV Around The World in 80 Days Paddy Kingsland BBC One Traffik Tim Souster Channel 4 The Woman in Black Rachel Portman ITV1991 The Green Man Tim Souster BBC One Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Rachel Portman BBC Two House of Cards Jim Parker BBC One The Trials of Life George Fenton1992 G.B.H. Richard Harvey, Elvis Costello Channel 4 Agatha Christie's Poirot Christopher Gunning ITV Inspector Morse Barrington Pheloung Prime Suspect Stephen Warbeck 1993 Frankie's House Jeff Beck, Jed Leiber ITV The Big Battalions Christopher Gunning Channel 4 Love Hurts Alan Hawkshaw BBC One Jeeves and Wooster Anne Dudley ITV1994 To Play the King Jim Parker BBC The Buddha of Suburbia David Bowie BBC Two Mr Wroe’s Virgins Roger and Brian Eno Life in the Freezer George Fenton BBC One1995 Middlemarch Stanley Myers, Christopher Gunning BBC Two Crocodile Shoes Tony McAnaney, Jimmy Nail, Paddy McAloon BBC One Martin Chuzzlewit Geoffrey Burgon BBC Two Skallagrigg Stephen Warbeck1996 Persuasion Jeremy Sams BBC Two Cracker Rick Wentworth ITV Signs and Wonders Daemion Barry BBC Two The Hanging Gale Shaun Davey BBC One1997 The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders Jim Parker ITV Cruel Train Nick Bicat BBC Two Ballykissangel Shaun Davey BBC One The Crow Road Colin Towns BBC Scotland1998 Tom Jones Jim Parker BBC One Holding On Nick Bicat BBC Two The Lakes Simon Boswell BBC One Trial & Retribution Evelyn Glennie ITV1999 A Rather English Marriage Jim Parker BBC Two Vanity Fair Murray Gold BBC One Our Mutual Friend Adrian Johnston BBC Two Hornblower: The Even Chance John Keane ITV
2000s Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster2000 Walking with Dinosaurs Ben Bartlett BBC One Queer as Folk Murray Gold Channel 4 Oliver Twist Paul Pritchard, Elvis Costello ITV Cold Feet Mark Russell 2001 Longitude Geoffrey Burgon Channel 4 War Behind the Wire Daemion Barry BBC Two Gormenghast Richard Rodney Bennett Elizabeth Andy Price Channel 42002 The Blue Planet George Fenton BBC One Perfect Strangers Adrian Johnston BBC Two The Way We Live Now Nicholas Hooper BBC One The Lost World Rob Lane2003 The Forsyte Saga Geoffrey Burgon ITV The Gathering Storm Howard Goodall BBC Two Tipping the Velvet Adrian Johnston, Terry Davies BBC Spooks Jennie Muskett BBC One2004 The Young Visiters Nicholas Hooper BBC One The Forsyte Saga Geoffrey Burgon ITV State of Play Nicholas Hooper BBC One The Lost Prince Adrian Johnston2005 Sex Traffic Jonathan Goldsmith Channel 4 Himalaya with Michael Palin David Hartley, Andre Jacquemin, Dave Howman BBC One Spooks Jennie Muskett, Sheridan Tongue Green Wing Jonathan Whitehead Channel 42006 Elizabeth I Rob Lane Channel 4 Casanova Murray Gold BBC Three The Girl in the Café Nicholas Hooper BBC One The Government Inspector Jocelyn Pook Channel 42007 Prime Suspect: The Final Act Nicholas Hooper ITV Planet Earth George Fenton BBC One Tsunami: The Aftermath Alex Heffes Jane Eyre Rob Lane2008 Capturing Mary Adrian Johnston BBC Two Boy A Paddy Cunneen Channel 4 Cranford Carl Davis BBC One Doctor Who Murray Gold2009 Wallander Martin Phipps BBC One Spooks Paul Leonard-Morgan BBC One Little Dorrit John Lunn Sense and Sensibility Martin Phipps
2010s Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster2010 Small Island Martin Phipps BBC One Red Riding 1974 Adrian Johnston Channel 4 Moses Jones Craig Pruess BBC Two Being Human Richard Wells BBC Three2011 Any Human Heart Dan Jones Channel 4 Sherlock: A Study in Pink David Arnold, Michael Price BBC One Terry Pratchett's Going Postal John Lunn Sky 1 Misfits Vince Pope E42012 Top Boy Brian Eno Channel 4 Downton Abbey John Lunn ITV Frozen Planet George Fenton BBC One Great Expectations Martin Phipps 2013 Henry IV (The Hollow Crown) Stephen Warbeck BBC Two Doctor Who (for "Asylum of the Daleks") Murray Gold BBC One The Hour Kevin Sargent BBC Two The Snowman and the Snowdog Ilan Eshkeri, Andy Burrows Channel 42014 Broadchurch Ólafur Arnalds ITV Luther Paul Englishby BBC One Peaky Blinders Martin Phipps BBC Two Top of the Lake Mark Bradshaw2015 Penny Dreadful Abel Korzeniowski Sky Atlantic Downton Abbey John Lunn ITV The Honourable Woman Martin Phipps BBC Two Life and Death Row (for "Execution") Richard Spiller BBC Three2016 The Hunt Steven Price BBC One Thunderbirds Are Go Ben Foster, Nick Foster ITV Broadchurch Ólafur Arnalds Poldark Anne Dudley BBC One2017 National Treasure Cristobal Tapia de Veer Channel 4 Poldark Anne Dudley BBC One Planet Earth II Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea, Jasha Klebe War & Peace Martin Phipps2018 King Charles III Jocelyn Pook BBC Two Taboo Max Richter BBC One Howards End Nico Muhly Born to be Free: Saving Russia's Whales Katya Mihailova Channel 42019 Killing Eve David Holmes, Keefus Ciancia BBC One The Little Drummer Girl Cho Young-Wuk BBC One A Very English Scandal Murray Gold Patrick Melrose Hauschka Sky Atlantic
2020s Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster2020 Chernobyl Hildur Guðnadóttir Sky Atlantic Killing Eve David Holmes, Keefus Ciancia BBC One Giri/Haji Adrian Johnston BBC Two War in the Blood Andrew Phillips2021 Roadkill Harry Escott BBC One The Third Day (for "Sunday – The Ghost") Cristobal Tapia de Veer Sky Atlantic Baghdad Central H. Scott Salinas Channel 4 The Crown Martin Phipps Netflix2022 Landscapers Arthur Sharpe Sky Atlantic Line of Duty Carly Paradis BBC One The Outsiders Jonathan "Elevated" Olorunfemi YouTube Loki Natalie Holt Disney+
Best Original Music - Fiction Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster2023 Mood Nicôle Lecky, Bryan Senti, Kwame KZ Kwei-Armah Jr. BBC Three The English Federico Jusid BBC Two Slow Horses Daniel Pemberton, Mick Jagger Apple TV+ The Responder Matthew Herbert BBC One2024 Silo Atli Örvarsson Apple TV+ Heartstopper Adiescar Chase Netflix Nolly Blair Mowat ITVX Loki Natalie Holt Disney+2025 Bad Sisters Tim Phillips, PJ Harvey Apple TV+ Rivals Natalie Holt, Jack Halama Disney+ Slow Horses Daniel Pemberton, Toydrum Apple TV+ Until I Kill You Carly Paradis ITV12026 Mussolini: Son of the Century Tom Rowlands Sky Atlantic The Death of Bunny Munro Nick Cave, Warren Ellis Sky Atlantic Black Mirror (for "Hotel Reverie") Ariel Marx Netflix A Thousand Blows Federico Jusid Disney+
Best Original Music - Factual Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster2023 Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story Jessica Jones Netflix House of Maxwell Andrew Phillips BBC Two The Elon Musk Show Max de Wardener The Tinder Swindler Jessica Jones Netflix2024 Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland Simon Russell BBC Two Wild Isles George Fenton BBC One A Time to Die Simon Rogers ITV Otto Baxter: Not a F***ing Horror Story Ed Harcourt Sky Documentaries2025 Rage Against the Regime: Iran Noor Khaleghi BBC Two Exposure: "Israel & Gaza: Into the Abyss" Tandis Jenhudson ITV1 American Nightmare Jessica Jones Netflix Tiger Nitin Sawhney Disney+2026 The Last Musician of Auschwitz Jessica Dannheisser BBC Two Moon: Nature's Secret Force Sophy Purnell Sky Nature Pangolin: Kulu's Journey Anne Nikitin Netflix The Sycamore Gap Mystery Louis Dodd, Matthew Sanchez Channel 4
See also Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
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