British Academy Television Awards 1998
Encyclopedia
The 1998 British Academy Television Awards
were held on May 18 at the Prince of Wales Theatre
in London
. The ceremony was broadcast on ITV
, hosted by Bob Monkhouse
, and it was the first occasion since 1968 that the Television Awards had been held separately from the British Academy Film Awards
, instead of as a joint ceremony.
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
were held on May 18 at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The ceremony was broadcast on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, hosted by Bob Monkhouse
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
, and it was the first occasion since 1968 that the Television Awards had been held separately from the British Academy Film Awards
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
, instead of as a joint ceremony.
Winners
- Best Actor
- Winner: Simon Russell BealeSimon Russell BealeSimon Russell Beale, CBE is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation."-Early years:...
— A Dance to the Music of TimeA Dance to the Music of TimeA Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim...
(Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
) - Other nominees: Robert CarlyleRobert CarlyleRobert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
— Hamish MacbethHamish Macbeth (TV series)Hamish Macbeth is a television series made by BBC Scotland and first aired in 1995. It is loosely based on a series of mystery novels by M. C. Beaton . The series concerns a local police officer, Constable Hamish Macbeth in the fictitious town of Lochdubh on the north coast of Scotland. The titular...
(BBC1BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
); Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
— Breaking the CodeBreaking the CodeBreaking the Code is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II...
(BBC2BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
); Tom Wilkinson — Cold Enough For Snow (BBC1)
- Winner: Simon Russell Beale
- Best Actress
- Winner: Daniela NardiniDaniela NardiniDaniela Nardini is a Scottish actress of Italian ancestry, best known for playing Anna Forbes in the BBC Two television series This Life. The role earned her a BAFTA Best Actress award in 1998 and also earned her a Scottish BAFTA...
— This LifeThis LifeThis Life is a BBC television drama that was produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
(BBC2) - Other nominees: Francesca AnnisFrancesca AnnisFrancesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...
— RecklessReckless (TV serial)Reckless is a British television serial written by Paul Abbott. Produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, it aired in six parts in the UK in 1997.A two-hour sequel, Reckless: The Movie, was shown in 1998....
(ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
); Kathy BurkeKathy BurkeKatherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...
— Tom JonesThe History of Tom Jones, a FoundlingThe History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a comic novel by the English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. First published on 28 February 1749, Tom Jones is among the earliest English prose works describable as a novel...
(BBC1); Miranda RichardsonMiranda RichardsonMiranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
— A Dance to the Music of Time (Channel 4)
- Winner: Daniela Nardini
- Best Comedy (Programme or Series)
- Winner: I'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan PartridgeI'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...
(TalkBack ProductionsTalkback ProductionsTalkback Productions was formed in 1981 by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. The company is one of the UK’s leading production companies and part of the RTL Group, a major European broadcast and content company....
/ BBC2) - Other nominees: Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
(Hartswood FilmsHartswood FilmsHartswood Films is a British television production company, founded and run by producer Beryl Vertue. The company is noted for its sitcom output, which includes Men Behaving Badly, Is It Legal? and Coupling...
/ BBC1); One Foot in the GraveOne Foot in the GraveOne Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
(BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
/ BBC1); The Vicar of DibleyThe Vicar of DibleyThe Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
(Tiger Aspect ProductionsTiger Aspect ProductionsTiger Aspect Productions is a British television production company, particularly noted for its situation comedies. Co-founded by producer Peter Bennett-Jones, its productions have included popular hits such as The Vicar of Dibley and Mr. Bean...
/ BBC1)
- Winner: I'm Alan Partridge
- Best Comedy Performance
- Winner: Steve CooganSteve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
— I'm Alan Partridge (BBC2) - Other nominees: Judi DenchJudi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
— As Time Goes ByAs Time Goes By (TV series)As Time Goes By is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 1992 to 2005. Starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, it follows the relationship between two former lovers who meet unexpectedly after not having been in contact for 38 years....
(BBC1); Dawn French — The Vicar of Dibley (BBC1); Richard Wilson — One Foot in the Grave (BBC1)
- Winner: Steve Coogan
- Best Drama Serial
- Winner: Holding On (BBC / BBC2)
- Other nominees: The LakesThe Lakes (TV series)The Lakes is the title of a television drama series in the United Kingdom, made by the BBC and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The Lakes brought writer Jimmy McGovern and actor John Simm a great deal of critical praise in 1997...
(BBC / BBC1); This Life (World ProductionsWorld ProductionsWorld Productions is a British television production company, founded in the early 1990s by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett. The company's first major series was the police drama Between The Lines , and throughout the decade they went on to produce a succession of highly successful drama series...
/ BBC2); The Woman in WhiteThe Woman in White (novel)The Woman in White is an epistolary novel written by Wilkie Collins in 1859, serialized in 1859–1860, and first published in book form in 1860...
(BBC / Carlton TelevisionCarlton TelevisionCarlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
/ WGBHWGBH-TVWGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
/ BBC1)
- Best Drama SeriesBritish Academy Television Award for Best Drama SeriesThe British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards , the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry...
- Winner: Jonathan CreekJonathan CreekJonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
(BBC / BBC1) - Other nominees: Common as MuckCommon As MuckCommon As Muck was a comedy drama serial made by the BBC about the lives of a crew of binmen; it ran for two series.-Characters:-Series One :...
(BBC / BBC1); Touching EvilTouching EvilTouching Evil is a British television drama serial, which began airing in 1997. It was produced by United Productions for Anglia Television, and screened on the ITV network. The first series consisted of six fifty-minute episodes. It was created by Paul Abbott, and written by Abbott with Russell T...
(Granada TelevisionGranada TelevisionGranada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
/ ITV); Wing and a PrayerWing and a PrayerWing and a Prayer is a black-and-white 1944 war film about the heroic crew of an American carrier in the desperate early days of World War II in the Pacific theater, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Dana Andrews and Don Ameche...
(Thames TelevisionThames TelevisionThames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
/ Channel 5)
- Winner: Jonathan Creek
- Best Single Drama
- Winner: No Child of Mine (Meridian BroadcastingMeridian BroadcastingMeridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
/ ITV) - Other nominees: Breaking the Code (BBC / The Drama House / WGBH / BBC2); Bumping the Odds (Halcyon Productions / Wall to Wall Television Ltd / BBC?); Granton Star Cause (Picture Palace North Limited / Umbrella Productions Limited / Channel 4)
- Winner: No Child of Mine (Meridian Broadcasting
- Best News and Current Affairs Journalism
- Winner: Panorama - Valentina's StoryPanorama (TV series)Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
(BBC / BBC1) - Other nominees: BBC Election Night ProgrammeUnited Kingdom general election, 1997The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
(BBC / BBC1); Channel 4 coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (ITN / Channel 4); ITV coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (ITN / ITV)
- Winner: Panorama - Valentina's Story
- Best Light Entertainment Performance
- Winner: Paul WhitehousePaul WhitehousePaul Whitehouse is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders...
— The Fast Show (BBC2) - Other nominees: Kathy Burke — Harry Enfield and Chums (BBC1); Harry EnfieldHarry EnfieldHenry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
— Harry Enfield and Chums (BBC1); Paul MertonPaul MertonPaul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
— Have I Got News For You
- Winner: Paul Whitehouse
- Best Factual Series
- Winner: The Nazis: A Warning from HistoryThe Nazis: A Warning from HistoryThe Nazis: A Warning from History is a 1997 BBC documentary film series that examines Adolf Hitler and the Nazis' rise to power, their zenith, their decline and fall, and the consequences of their reign. It featured archive footage and interviews with eye witnesses and was shown in six...
(BBC / Gosteleradio / BBC2) - Other nominees: Breaking Point (??? / ???); HotelHotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
(??? / BBC1); Royals and Reptiles (??? / ???)
- Winner: The Nazis: A Warning from History
- Flaherty Award for Single Documentary
- Winner: True StoriesTrue StoriesTrue Stories may refer to:* True Stories , a 1986 film by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne* True Stories , a 1986 Talking Heads album featuring songs from the film...
— The Grave (??? / ???) - Other nominees: Inside StoryInside StoryInside Story is Grace Jones's eighth studio album, and her first with the Manhattan Records label. It was also her first time working with producer Nile Rodgers...
— Nazi Gold (??? / ???); Network FirstNetwork FirstNetwork First is a wide-ranging documentary strand broadcast on ITV in the U.K. from January 1994 to December 1997, and was a part replacement for First Tuesday...
— Out of the Shadows & We are the Treasury (??? / ???); Wildlife Special — Polar Bear (??? / BBC?)
- Winner: True Stories
- Huw Wheldon Award for Arts Programme or Series
- Winner: The South Bank ShowThe South Bank ShowThe South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
— Gilbert and GeorgeGilbert and GeorgeGilbert & George are two artists who work together as a collaborative duo. Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have become famous for their distinctive, highly formal appearance and manner and their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.-Early life:Gilbert Proesch was...
(London Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
/ ITV) - Other nominees: Dancing for Dollars (??? / ???); Omnibus — Jack RosenthalJack RosenthalJack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
: Jack the Lad (BBC / BBC1); Bookmark — Stevie SmithStevie SmithFlorence Margaret Smith, known as Stevie Smith was an English poet and novelist.-Life:Stevie Smith, born Florence Margaret Smith in Kingston upon Hull, was the second daughter of Ethel and Charles Smith. Contemporary Women Poets...
: Not Waving But Drowning (??? / ???)
- Winner: The South Bank Show
- Light Entertainment Programme or Series
- Winner: The Fast ShowThe Fast ShowThe Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
(BBC / BBC2) - Other nominees: Harry Enfield and Chums (Tiger Aspect Productions / BBC1); Harry HillHarry HillHarry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...
(Avalon Television / Channel 4); Have I Got News For YouHave I Got News for YouHave I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
(Hat Trick ProductionsHat Trick ProductionsHat Trick Productions is a British independent production company that produces television programmes, mainly specialising in comedy.-History:...
/ BBC2)
- Winner: The Fast Show
- Best Live Outside Broadcast Coverage
- Winner: Rugby UnionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
(Sky SportsSky SportsSky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
) - Other nominees: The Final MomentTransfer of the sovereignty of Hong KongThe transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
(BBC / BBC?); Grand NationalGrand NationalThe Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
(BBC / BBC1); ITV Formula OneFormula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
Coverage (Mach1 / ITV)
- Winner: Rugby Union
- Foreign Programme Award
- FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
- Friends
- The Lew GradeLew GradeLew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
Award- A Touch of FrostA Touch of Frost (TV series)A Touch of Frost is a television detective series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV from 1992 until 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R. D. Wingfield....
- A Touch of Frost
- The Dennis PotterDennis PotterDennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
Award- Kay MellorKay MellorKay Mellor, OBE is an English actress, scriptwriter, and director best known for her work on several successful television drama series.-Early life:...
- Kay Mellor
- The Alan ClarkeAlan ClarkeAlan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
Award- Ted ChildsTed ChildsEdward Samuel "Ted" Childs is a British television producer, screenwriter and director, whose notable works include The Sweeney, Kavanagh QC, Soldier Soldier, Making Waves, Inspector Morse and its spin-off Lewis...
- Ted Childs
- The Richard DimblebyRichard DimblebyRichard Dimbleby CBE was an English journalist and broadcaster widely acknowledged as one of the greatest figures in British broadcasting history.-Early life:...
Award- David DimblebyDavid DimblebyDavid Dimbleby is a British BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs and political programmes, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history and history series...
- David Dimbleby
- Special Award
- Roger CookRoger Cook (journalist)Roger Cook is an investigative presenter, reporter and broadcaster.- Early life :His parents were New Zealanders, but he was was brought up in Australia, and began his career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a reporter and newsreader on both radio and television.In 1968, he moved to...
- Roger Cook