Michaela Coel’s ‘I May Destroy You’ lands major prizes at BPG Awards

I May Destroy You

Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You was the stand-out winner at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) Awards, while David Tennant was also among the prizes for his work on ITV drama Des and lockdown drama Staged.

I May Destroy You, which was produced by Various Artists Ltd and Falkna for the UK’s BBC and HBO in the US, took home the Best Drama Series while the show’s creator Cole picked up the Best Actress and Best Writer awards.

Staged

Tennant was named Best Actor for his performances in Des (ITV) and Staged (BBC One), while the BPG Jury Prize was awarded to Joe Wicks for his PE With Joe fitness sessions on YouTube during lockdown.

ITV drama Quiz, from James Graham’s stage play about Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, was named Best Drama Mini-Series, and Emma Corrin won the BPG Breakthrough Award for her performance as Princess Diana in Netflix’s The Crown.

BBC Two also struck success with three of its shows: Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing won the Best Entertainment award for the second time in three years; Once Upon a Time in Iraq took Best Documentary Series; and The Rise Of The Murdoch Dynasty was named Best Documentary Mini-Series.

The BPG Innovation in Broadcasting Award went to the BBC for its Lockdown Learning initiative and the Harvey Lee Award, for an outstanding contribution to broadcasting, was given to John McVay of UK trade body PACT on behalf of all who created the Film & TV Production Restart Scheme, to help the industry open up again during the pandemic.

The BPG Television, Streaming and Audio Awards are chosen by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers.