Alexei Sayle and Rebecca Front are among the names nominated for BBC Audio Drama Awards.
Sayle is nominated for Best Scripted Comedy (Sketch Show) for Alexei Sayle’s Imaginary Sandwich Bar alongside shows from Kevin Eldon and Terry Alderton and Front is nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Fiona in the Alcoholics Anonymous-inspired Love in Recovery. Mark Steel’s in Town, Phil Ellis Is Trying and Phil Wang: Wangsplaining are nominated in the Best Scripted Comedy (Longform) Category.
The awards will be presented to a variety of productions, from the classics to the contemporary. Best adaptation finalists including Orlando by Virginia Woolf, and the eco-thriller Forest 404 in the Best Podcast or Online Audio Drama category.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in the Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House, London on the evening of Sunday 2 February 2020, hosted by Meera Syal.
The BBC Audio Drama Awards mark the hard work and creativity of professionals across the field, from actors to writers, producers, and sound designers. The awards showcase diverse artistic endeavours, a wide range of formats, tackling an array of themes, and spanning both on air and online productions. As the biggest commissioner of audio drama globally, the BBC is proud to highlight the achievements of the sector.
The categories are judged by a team of industry experts including Ruth Jones, Baz Bamigboye and Mark Bonnar. In its nine-year history, the BBC Audio Drama Awards has presented trophies to acclaimed talents including Andrew Scott, Dame Sian Phillips, John Hurt, Vicky McClure, Sir Ian McKellen, Monica Dolan, David Threlfall and The Archers.
The full list of finalists is as follows:
Best Actor
Stephen Dillane, Sea Longing, director Karen Rose, Sweet Talk, BBC Radio 3
Sule Rimi, I Am Kanye West, director John Norton, BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Radio 4
Stanley Townsend, The Macefield Plot, director David Hunter, BBC Radio Drama London, BBC Radio 4
Best Actress
Rebecca Front, Love in Recovery, director Ben Worsfield, King Bert, BBC Radio 4
Katherine Kelly, A Badge, director Tony Pitts, Savvy Productions, BBC Radio 4
Lydia Wilson, Black Water: An American Story, director Gaynor Macfarlane, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 4
Best Adaptation
Body Tourists by Jane Rogers, producer Clive Brill, Brill Productions, BBC Radio 4
Black Water: An American Story by Joyce Carol Oates, adapted by Sarah Wooley, producer Gaynor Macfarlane, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 4
Orlando by Virginia Woolf, adapted by Caroline Bird, Amanda Dalton, Zena Edwards, Hannah Silva and Karen McCarthy Woolf, producer Nadia Molinari, BBC Radio Drama North, BBC Radio 3
Best Debut Performance
Nadia Clifford, Good News Stories, director Mary Peate, BBC Radio Drama London, BBC Radio 4
George Kent, A Kestrel for a Knave, director Fiona McAlpine, Goldhawk Essential, BBC Radio 4
Sade Malone, Torn, director Gary Brown, BBC Radio Drama North, BBC Radio 4
Best Director
Mair Bosworth, Deaf Republic, BBC Bristol, BBC Radio 4
Nicolas Jackson, Savages, Afonica, BBC Radio 4
Mary Ward-Lowery, Talk to Me: HP Lovecraft, BBC Bristol, BBC Radio 4
Best European Drama
Buzz Suppression – Recording Strictly off the Record by Ulrich Bassenge, producers Ulrich Bassenge, Martina Müller-Wallraff and Anina Barandun, WDR (Germany) and SRF (Switzerland)
The Invisible by Jaroslav Havlíček, adapted by Marie Nováková and Renata Venclová, producer Renata Venclová, CZR Czech Radio
When the Stars Fall – Life Fragments of Maria Callas by Cesare Ferrario, producer Francesca Giorzi, RSI Italian Swiss Radio Television
Best Original Series or Serial
D for Dexter by Amanda Whittington, producer Mary Ward-Lowery, BBC Bristol, BBC Radio 4
Life Lines by Al Smith, producer Sally Avens, BBC Radio Drama London, BBC Radio 4
Undercover Mumbai Series 3 by Ayeesha Menon, producers John Scott Dryden and Nadir Khan, Goldhawk Productions, BBC Radio 4
Best Original Single Drama
The Invisible by Linda Marshall Griffiths, producer Nadia Molinari, BBC Radio Drama North, BBC Radio 3
Sea Longing by Elizabeth Kuti, producer Karen Rose, Sweet Talk, BBC Radio 3
Torn by Eve Steele, producer Gary Brown, BBC Radio Drama North, BBC Radio 4
Best Podcast or Online Audio Drama
Forest 404 by Timothy X Atack, producer Becky Ripley, BBC Bristol, BBC Sounds
Passenger List created by John Scott Dryden, Lauren Shippen and Mark Henry Phillips, Goldhawk Productions, Radiotopia
The Ordinary Epic by Brandon M. Crose, producer Jordan Stillman, Crose to Home Productions
Best Scripted Comedy (Longform)
Mark Steel’s in Town – the Forest of Dean by Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair, producer Carl Cooper, BBC Studios, BBC Radio 4
Phil Ellis Is Trying by Phil Ellis and Fraser Steele, producer Sam Michell, BBC Studios, BBC Radio 4
Phil Wang: Wangsplaining by Phil Wang, producer Matt Stronge, BBC Studios, BBC Radio 4
Best Scripted Comedy (Sketch Show)
Alexei Sayle’s Imaginary Sandwich Bar by Alexei Sayle, producer Joe Nunnery, BBC Studios, BBC Radio 4
Kevin Eldon Will See You Now by Kevin Eldon with Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, producer David Tyler, Pozzitive, BBC Radio 4
Terry Alderton’s Whole Half Hour by Terry Alderton and Richard Melvin with Julia Sutherland, Paul Tonkinson, Steven Dick and Bobby Davro, producers Al Lorraine and Richard Melvin, Dabster Productions, BBC Radio 4
Best Use of Sound
An Angel in Miami, sound by Steve Bond, producers Joby Waldman and Steve Bond, Reduced Listening, BBC Radio 4
Hello Caller, sound by Michael Harrison and Alison Crawford, producer Alison Crawford, BBC Bristol, BBC Radio 4
The Invisible, sound by Steve Brooke, producer Nadia Molinari, BBC Radio Drama North, BBC Radio 3
The Imison Award
Bathwater, Vicky Foster, Sue Roberts (producer) for BBC Radio 4
The Beatboxer Testament, Gary Brown (producer) for BBC Radio 4
By God's Mercy, Colette Victor, David Hunter (producer) for BBC World Service
The Tinniswood Award
Death of a Matriarch, Tanika Gupta, Polly Thomas (producer) for BBC Radio 3
A Fragile Peace, Katie Hims, Jessica Dromgoole (producer) for BBC Radio 4
The Hartlepool Spy, Ian Martin, Sam Ward (producer) for BBC Radio 4
