The Royal Television Society Programme Awards, (often referred to as the RTS Awards) seek to recognise programmes or individuals who have made a positive and material contribution to their genre: either because their content or originality in form has in some way moved the genre forward, or perhaps even created a new genre; or because their quality has set standards which other programme-makers can emulate and learn from.
In addition to the national awards and the Craft & Design Awards, the Royal Television Society also hosts a number of regional award ceremonies throughout the UK and Ireland.
Award categories The original Royal Television Society Programme Awards can be traced back to 1975, when there were just seven categories. In 1989, the categories were revised and awards in these new categories conferred for the award year of 1988. It was also in this year that nominations for some categories were introduced for the very first time. Since 2016, the awards have been primarily focussed on home-grown output, with Fargo, the final winner of the International category in 2015. In 2023, the number of award categories stood at 30.
Controversies In February 2017 broadcaster Piers Morgan pulled out as host after only three days, citing a public campaign branding him as damaging and inappropriate for the event.
Judging The RTS Programme Awards winners are selected not by public vote but decided via judging panels composed of industry experts and professionals. In 2016 the make up of the judging panels was adjusted to include more women and people from minority backgrounds. From approximately 200 jurors, 52% were now female and 27% from BAME backgrounds. The move towards more diversity came in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign. At the time of the 2020 awards, the overall jury composition was 56% female and 32% came from BAME backgrounds.
Winners: 1998–present 2025 winners +Presented: 25 March 2025 – Host: Tom Allen Award Winners NomineesOutstanding Achievement AwardClaudia Winkleman–Judges' AwardRuth Jones and James Corden– ArtsMy Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom (Channel 4) In My Own Words: Alison Lapper (BBC) Camden (Disney+) Breakthrough AwardJosh Tedeku – Boarders (BBC) Michelle de Swarte – Spent (BBC) Bethany Asher – Sherwood (BBC) Children's ProgrammeQuentin Blake's Box of Treasures (BBC) Dodo (Sky Kids) BMX All Stars (BBC) Comedy DramaAlma's Not Normal (BBC) Boarders (BBC) Ludwig (BBC) Comedy EntertainmentJunior Taskmaster (Channel 4) Have I Got News for You (BBC) Sorry, I Didn't Know (ITV1) Comedy Performance: FemaleSophie Willan – Alma's Not Normal (BBC) Aimee Lou Wood – Daddy Issues (BBC) Michelle de Swarte – Spent (BBC) Comedy Performance: MaleOliver Savell – Changing Ends (ITV1) Jim Howick – Here We Go (BBC) Nabhaan Rizwan – Kaos (Netflix) Daytime ProgrammeLoose Women (ITV1) Clive Myrie's Caribbean Adventure (BBC) BBC Breakfast (BBC) Documentary SeriesThe Push: Murder on the Cliff (Channel 4) To Catch a Copper (Channel 4) On Thin Ice: Putin v Greenpeace (BBC) Drama SeriesIndustry (BBC and HBO) Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC and Masterpiece) Supacell (Netflix) EntertainmentThe Traitors (BBC) Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV1) RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC) Entertainment PerformanceAnthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV1) Steven Frayne – Miracles (Sky Max) Claudia Winkleman – The Traitors (BBC) Formatted Popular FactualFreddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams on Tour (BBC) The Jury: Murder Trial (Channel 4) The Martin Lewis Money Show Live (ITV1) HistoryAtomic People (BBC) Miners' Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain (Channel 4) Helmand: Tour of Duty (BBC) Leading Actor: FemaleAnna Maxwell Martin – Until I Kill You (ITV1) Ambika Mod – One Day (Netflix) Monica Dolan – Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1) Leading Actor: MaleLennie James – Mr Loverman (BBC) Adeel Akhtar – Showtrial (BBC) Ben Whishaw – Black Doves (Netflix) Limited Series and Single DramaThis Town (Netflix) Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1) Breathtaking (ITV1) Live EventD Day 80: Tribute to the Fallen (BBC) Coldplay at Glastonbury 2024 (BBC) The Martin Lewis Money Show Live – Budget Special (ITV1) PresenterLiz Carr – Better Off Dead? (BBC) Joe Tracini – Me and the Voice in My Head (Channel 4) Zuhair Hassan – Big Zuu Goes to Mecca (BBC) Science & The Natural WorldBilly & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic and Disney+) Silverback (BBC) Living with Leopards (Netflix) Scripted ComedyThings You Should Have Done (BBC) We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4) Gavin & Stacey: The Finale (BBC) Single DocumentaryHell Jumper (BBC) Undercover: Exposing the Far Right (Channel 4) Tell Them You Love Me (Sky Documentaries) Soap and Continuing DramaCasualty (BBC) EastEnders (BBC) Hollyoaks (Channel 4) Sports Presenter, Commentator or PunditRose Ayling-Ellis and Clare Balding – Paris 2024 Paralympics (Channel 4) Ian Wright – Euro 2024 (ITV Sport) Michael Johnson – Paris 2024 Olympics (BBC Sport) Sports ProgramParis 2024 Paralympics (Channel 4) Paris 2024 Olympics (BBC Sport) London Marathon 2024 (BBC Sport) Supporting Actor – FemaleJessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer (Netflix) Monica Dolan – Sherwood (BBC) Katherine Parkinson - Rivals (Disney+) Supporting Actor – MaleDanny Dyer – Rivals (Disney+) McKinley Belcher III – Eric (Netflix) Sonny Walker – The Gathering (Channel 4) Writer – ComedySophie Willan – Alma's Not Normal (BBC) Writing team – Cunk on Life (BBC and Netflix) Nida Manzoor – We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4) Writer – DramaDominic Treadwell-Collins and Laura Wade – Rivals (Disney)+ Will Smith – Slow Horses (Apple TV+) Peter Straughan – Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC)
2024 winners +Presented: 26 March 2024 – Host: Tom Allen Award Winners NomineesOutstanding Achievement AwardStephen Lambert–Judges' AwardMr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV)– ArtsFight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World (BBC) Becoming Frida Kahlo (BBC) Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now (Netflix) Breakthrough AwardLucy Edwards – Japan - The Way I See It – The Travel Show (BBC) Ashley Thomas – Great Expectations (BBC One) Hamza Yassin – Hamza: Strictly Birds of Prey (BBC) Children's ProgramA Kind of Spark (CBBC) FYI Investigates: Kids Who Vape (Sky Kids & Sky News) Tabby McTat (CBBC) Comedy DramaJuice (BBC Three) Big Boys (Channel 4) There She Goes (BBC Two) Comedy EntertainmentRob & Romesh Vs (Sky Max) Taskmaster (Channel 4) The Graham Norton Show (BBC One) Comedy Performance: FemaleGbemisola Ikumelo – Black Ops (BBC One) Máiréad Tyers – Extraordinary (Disney+) Kat Sadler – Such Brave Girls (BBC Three) Comedy Performance: MaleHammed Animashaun – Black Ops (BBC One) Freddie Meredith – Such Brave Girls (BBC Three) Jon Pointing – Big Boys (Channel 4) Daytime ProgramScam Interceptors (BBC One) Good Morning Britain - Matt Hancock Interview (ITV) Junior Bake Off (Channel 4) Documentary SeriesOnce Upon a Time in Northern Ireland (BBC Two) Evacuation (Channel 4) Kids (Channel 4) Drama SeriesHappy Valley (BBC One) The Gold (BBC One & Paramount+) Top Boy (Netflix) EntertainmentSquid Game: The Challenge (Netflix) Michael McIntyre's The Wheel (BBC One) Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One) Entertainment PerformanceHannah Waddingham – Eurovision Song Contest 2023 (BBC One) Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond – The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4) Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan - Rob & Romesh Vs. (Sky Max) Formatted Popular FactualSort Your Life Out (BBC) Banged Up (Channel 4) The Piano (Channel 4) HistoryWhite Nanny, Black Child (Channel 5) Britain's Human Zoos (Channel 4) The Man Who Played With Fire (Sky Documentaries) Leading Actor: FemaleTamara Lawrance – Time (BBC One) Jodie Whittaker – Time (BBC One) Sarah Lancashire – Happy Valley (BBC One) Leading Actor: MaleKane Robinson – Top Boy (Netflix) Gary Oldman – Slow Horses (Apple TV+) Timothy Spall – The Sixth Commandment (BBC One) Limited-SeriesThe Sixth Commandment (BBC One) Best Interests (BBC One) Boiling Point (BBC One) Live EventEurovision Song Contest 2023 (BBC One) The Coronation Concert (BBC Studios Event Productions for BBC) The Coronation of TM The King and Queen Camilla (BBC) PresenterChris Packham – Inside Our Autistic Minds (BBC) Rhod Gilbert – Rhod Gilbert: A Pain in the Neck (Channel 4) Stacey Solomon – Sort Your Life Out (BBC) Science & The Natural WorldChimp Empire (Netflix) Inside Our Autistic Minds (BBC) Planet Earth III (BBC One) Scripted ComedyExtraordinary (Disney+) Black Ops (BBC One) Such Brave Girls (BBC Three) Single DocumentaryOtto Baxter: Not A F***ing Horror Story (Sky Documentaries) Anorexic (Channel 5) The Price of Truth (Channel 4) Single DramaPartygate (Channel 4) Consent (Channel 4) Men Up (BBC One) Soap and Continuing DramaEastEnders (BBC One) Casualty (BBC One) Waterloo Road (BBC iPlayer) Sports Presenter, Commentator or PunditAlex Scott – FIFA Women's World Cup (BBC) Gabby Logan – FIFA Women's World Cup (BBC) Nasser Hussain – The Ashes (Sky Sports Cricket) Sports ProgramAll Ireland Senior Football Championship Final (BBC Northern Ireland) 2023 Rugby World Cup (ITV1 & ITV4) The Ashes (Sky Sports Cricket) Supporting Actor – FemaleBella Ramsey – Time (BBC One) Jasmine Jobson – Top Boy (Netflix) Ronke Adékoluẹjo - Rain Dogs (BBC One) Supporting Actor – MaleÉanna Hardwicke – The Sixth Commandment (BBC One) Araloyin Oshunremi – Top Boy (Netflix) Mark Gatiss – Nolly (ITVX) Writer – ComedyJack Rooke – Big Boys (Channel 4) Bridget Christie – The Change (Channel 4) Joe Tucker, Lloyd Woolf, Gbemisola Ikumelo & Akemnji Ndifornyen – Black Ops (BBC Studios Comedy Productions and Mondo Deluxe Productions for BBC) Writer – DramaSarah Phelps – The Sixth Commandment (BBC One) Emma Dennis-Edwards – Consent (Channel 4) Sally Wainwright – Happy Valley (BBC One)
2023 winners
This year saw the introduction of two new performance categories: supporting actor male and supporting actor female. +Presented: 28 March 2023 – Host: Tom Allen Award Winners NomineesOutstanding Achievement AwardSarah Lancashire–Judges' Award Charlotte Moore (BBC)– Arts The Evolution of Black British Music (BET UK) The Ghost of Richard Harris (Sky Arts) This Is Joan Collins (BBC) Breakthrough Award Lenny Rush – Am I Being Unreasonable? (BBC One) Nicôle Lecky – Mood (BBC Three) Eddie Kadi – Sorry, I Didn't Know (ITV) Children's Program Dodger (CBBC) COP27: Six Ways to Save Our Planet (Sky Kids / Sky News) Corpse Talk (YouTube Originals) Comedy Drama Brassic (Sky Max) Am I Being Unreasonable? (BBC One) Cheaters (BBC Three) Comedy Entertainment Friday Night Live (Channel 4) Joe Lycett vs David Beckham, A Got Your Back Special (Channel 4) Sorry, I Didn't Know (ITV) Comedy Performance: Female Daisy May Cooper as Nic in Am I Being Unreasonable? (BBC One) Leah Brotherhead as Toni in Hullraisers (Channel 4) Rose Matafeo as Jessie in Starstruck (BBC One) Comedy Performance: Male Lenny Rush as Ollie in Am I Being Unreasonable? (BBC One) Samson Kayo as Maleek in Bloods (Sky Comedy) Jon Pointing as Danny in Big Boys (Channel 4) Daytime Program Loose Men (ITV) Come Dine With Me: The Professionals (Channel 4) Scam Interceptors (BBC One) Documentary Series Gazza (BBC Two) Big Oil vs The World (BBC Two) Jeremy Kyle Show: Death On Daytime (Channel 4) Drama Series Sherwood (BBC One) The Responder (BBC One) Top Boy (Netflix) Entertainment The Traitors (BBC One) Joe Lycett’s Big Pride Party (Channel 4) The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan (Channel 4) Entertainment Performance Claudia Winkleman – The Traitors (BBC One) Jordan Stephens – Don't Hate The Playaz (ITV2) Mo Gilligan – The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan (Channel 4) Formatted Popular Factual Gogglebox (Channel 4) Idris Elba's Fight School (BBC Two) The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit (BBC One) History Our Falklands War: A frontline story (BBC Two) Aids: The Unheard Tapes (BBC Two)