BBC dominates Broadcast Awards 2026 with 52 nominations – more than double Channel 4 and ITV

The BBC has received a welcome shot in the arm with more than twice as many nominations for the Broadcast Awards 2026 as any other broadcaster or streamer.

The corporation’s performance was particularly strong in the Children’s Programme, and Comedy Drama categories, where it delivered five of the six shortlisted entries; and in the Specialist Factual and Comedy categories, where it was responsible for four out of the six.

By comparison, the next highest number of nominations was Channel 4 with 19 and ITV with 18.

Shortlists for some of the major categories include Best Independent Production Company, which will see 72 Films, Candour Productions, Rogan Productions, Studio Lambert, World Productions and Warp Films go head to head, while Broadcaster of the Year will see SVoD giant Netflix battle PSBs the BBC, Channel 4, ITV1 and 5, as well as UKTV streamer U.

Factual outfits Rogan and 72 will face off again in the Best Documentary Programme with their respective Netflix and BBC films Grenfell: Uncovered and Trump: The Criminal Conspiracy Case. Those shows will compete with Amos Pictures’ One Day in October (C4), Life and Death in Gaza (BBC) from BBC Eye & BBC Storyville, Drum Studios’ Flight 149: Hostage of War for Sky Documentaries, and Undercover: Exposing The Far Right from Tigerlily & Marking Inc in association with HiddenLight & Doc Society for C4.

The 2026 iteration of the awards features several new categories, including Best New Drama. It will be contested by the BBC’s Mr Loverman (Fable Pictures), Disney+ duo Rivals (Happy Prince) and A Thousand Blows (The Story Collective, Matriarch Productions & Water & Power Productions), ITV’s I Fought The Law (Hera Pictures) and Warp Films pair Reunion (BBC) and Adolescence, co-produced with Matriarch Productions and Plan B for Netflix.

Best Returning Drama encompasses the Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, All Creatures Great and Small, Slow Horses, Y Golau: Dŵr, Malpractice and Showtrial.

Rounding out the new scripted new categories, Best Comedy Drama, will see Death Valley, Am I Being Unreasonable?, Alma’s Not Normal, Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, Big Boys and Boarders compete.

Various indies have multiple nominations including Warp Films and Various Artists Limited (four nominations); 72 Films and Studio Lambert (three nominations); and CPL Productions, DM Productions, Expectation, Fulwell Entertainment, Happy Prince, Tidy Productions, Baby Cow Productions, Hat Trick Productions, Optomen, Passion Pictures and Rockerdale Studios (two apiece).

A quintet of shows won two nominations – Netflix’s smash hit drama Adolescence, comedy trio Juice, Smoggie Queens and Such Brave Girls and entertainment format The Assembly.

After the BBC with 52 nominations, Channel 4 with 19 and ITV with 18, comes Sky with 11 across its operations. Streamers Netflix (four) and Prime Video (two) also feature on the shortlist, while 5 scored three nominations and National Geographic two.

The Special Recognition Award, sponsored by Gravity Media, and the Hall of Fame Award, sponsored by Access Bookings, will be announced on the awards night.

This year’s dock10 TV Moment of the Year shortlist be revelaed on Monday, when the voting period to select the winner will begin. 

The awards take place on 4 February at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane.

Tables are now available to purchase – package details can be found here: https://broadcastawards.co.uk/table-packages.

The full shortlist is available below and can also be found on the awards website: https://broadcastawards.co.uk/shortlist-2026

Best Children’s Programme

Crongton, New Pictures for BBC iPlayer
Horrible Science, Lion Television for BBC iPlayer
My Life: Me, My Horse and My Spear, Salt Street for BBC iPlayer
Super Happy Magic Forest, Tiger Aspect Kids & Family, Zodiak Kids, Family France, Movimenti Productions & Monello Productions for CBBC & BBC iPlayer
The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland, Lupus Films, Islington Films & Universal Content Group for Sky
The Primrose Railway Children, BBC Studios Kids & Family for BBC

Best Comedy Drama Programme

Alma’s Not Normal, Expectation TV for BBC 
Am I Being Unreasonable, Boffola Pictures for BBC
Big Boys, Roughcut TV for Channel 4 
Boarders, Studio Lambert for BBC
Death Valley, BBC Studios Comedy for BBC
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, Fulwell Entertainment, Tidy Productions & Baby Cow Productions for BBC 

Best Comedy Programme
(Sponsored by Riverside TV Studios)

Here We Go, BBC Studios Comedy for BBC
Juice, Various Artists Limited for BBC
Mr Bigstuff, Water & Power Productions & Sky Studios for Sky Max
Pushers, Merman Television & 2LE Media for C4
Smoggie Queens, Hat Trick Productions for BBC
Such Brave Girls, Various Artists Limited for BBC 

Best Current Affairs Programme

America’s Veterans: The War Within (Exposure), Fuuse Films for ITV1
Blood Parliament, BBC World Service for YouTube
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, Basement Films for Channel 4
Kill List: Hunted By Putin’s Spies, Passion Pictures & Bellingcat Productions for Channel 4
Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? (Exposure), DM Productions for ITV1
State of Rage, Duskwater for Channel 4 

Best Daytime Programme

Doorbell Detectives, Purple Productions for BBC
Help! We Bought a Village, True North Productions for Channel 4
Lost and Found in the Lakes, Ty’r Ddraig for BBC
Narrow Escapes, Bowled Over Media with Motion Content Group for Channel 4
Richard Osman’s House of Games, Remarkable Entertainment for BBC
Scam Interceptors, BBC Studios for BBC 

Best Documentary Programme

Flight 149: Hostage of War, Drum Studios for Sky Documentaries
Grenfell: Uncovered, Rogan Productions for Netflix
Life and Death in Gaza, BBC Eye & BBC Storyville for BBC
One Day in October, Amos Pictures for Channel 4
Trump: The Criminal Conspiracy Case, 72 Films for BBC
UNDERCOVER: Exposing The Far Right, Tigerlily & Marking Inc in assoc with Hidden Light & Doc Society for Channel 4 

Best Documentary Series
(Sponsored by The Complete Camera Company)

Ambulance, Dragonfly Film & TV for BBC
Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park, True Vision TV for Sky Documentaries
Life and Death Row, BBC Studios for BBC
Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text, The Garden for Channel 4
The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed, RAW for ITV1 & ITVX
Tsunami: Race Against Time, Blast Films for National Geographic 

Best Entertainment Programme
(Sponsored by BBC Studioworks)

A League of Their Own, CPL Productions for Sky Max
Last One Laughing, Zeppotron & Initial for Prime Video
Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Hungry McBear for BBC
Strictly Come Dancing, BBC Studios for BBC
The Assembly, Rockerdale Studios for ITV1
The Great British Bake Off, Love Productions for Channel 4 

Best Factual Entertainment Programme

Clarkson’s Farm, Expectation TV & Con Dao for Prime Video
Extraordinary Portraits, Chatterbox Media for BBC
Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake, BBC Studios Entertainment for U&W
Sort Your Life Out, Optomen Television for BBC
The Piano, Love Productions for Channel 4
Virgin Island, Double Act for Channel 4 

Best Multichannel Programme

Juice, Various Artists Limited for BBC
Kursk: 10 Days That Shaped Putin, HiddenLight for Sky HISTORY
Married at First Sight UK, CPL Productions for E4
Murder Case: The Vanishing Cyclist, Firecrest Films for BBC Scotland
Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection, Optomen Television for ITVX
Such Brave Girls, Various Artists Limited for BBC 

Best New Drama

A Thousand Blows, The Story Collective, Matriarch Productions & Water & Power Productions for Disney+
Adolescence, Warp Films, Matriarch Productions & Plan B for Netflix
I Fought The Law, Hera Pictures for ITV1 & ITVX
Mr Loverman, Fable Pictures for BBC
Reunion, Warp Films for BBC
Rivals, Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios for Disney+

Best News Programme

BBC Breakfast: Southport and Social Media – From Heartbreak to Hope, BBC Breakfast for BBC
BBC Newsnight: Grooming Survivors Speak, BBC News for BBC
Good Morning Britain Southport Special: Giving Voice to the Victims, ITV Studios for ITV
Inside Sednaya: The Fall of Assad, Channel 4 News for Channel 4
Sky News: Assad Downfall, Sky News for Sky News
The Case Against the Archbishop, Channel 4 News for Channel 4

Best Original Programme

Adolescence, Warp Films, Matriarch Productions & Plan B for Netflix
Code of Silence, Mammoth Screen for ITV1
Smoggie Queens, Hat Trick Productions for BBC
The Assembly, Rockerdale Studios for ITV1
The Donald Trump Show, 72 Films for Channel 4
Underdogs, Maximum Effort & Wildstar Films for National Geographic

Best Pre-School Programme

Big Lizard, Beakus, Je Suis Bien Content, Watch Next Media & Bardaf! Productions for CBeebies
Dodge’s Pup School, Brilliant Trees Media for BBC iPlayer
Jaime’s Yoga Adventures, Zodiak Kids & Cosmic Kids for Sky Kids
Mixmups, Mackinnon & Saunders for Channel 5 Milkshake!
Mojo Swoptops, Blue Zoo for BBC
Tiddler, Magic Light Pictures for BBC

Best Reality Programme
(Sponsored by Versa Studios)

I Kissed a Boy, Twofour for BBC
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, Lifted Entertainment, part of ITV Studios for ITV1
Love Is Blind: UK, CPL Productions for Netflix
Tempting Fortune, Voltage TV Productions for Channel 4
The Fortune Hotel, Tuesday’s Child for ITV1
The Traitors, Studio Lambert for BBC

Best Returning Drama

All Creatures Great and Small, Playground Television for 5
Malpractice, World Productions for ITV1
Showtrial, World Productions for BBC
Slow Horses, See-Saw Films for Apple TV
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Playground & Company Pictures, Masterpiece in assoc Banijay Rights Limited for BBC
Y Golau: Dŵr, The Light, Y Golau Cyf, Triongl & Channel 4 for S4C

Best Soap/Continuing Drama

Casualty, BBC Studios for BBC
Coronation Street, ITV Studios for ITVX & ITV1
EastEnders, BBC Studios for BBC
Emmerdale, ITV Studios for ITV1
Hollyoaks, Lime Pictures for E4
Waterloo Road, Rope Ladder Fiction & Wall to Wall North for BBC 

Best Specialist Factual Programme

7/7: The London Bombings, The Slate Works for BBC
Children of the Cult (Exposure), DM Productions for ITV1
Helmand: Tour of Duty, Passion Pictures & Kailash Films for BBC
Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz, Oxford Films for BBC
The Lost Music of Auschwitz, Windfall Films for Sky Arts
Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire, Acme for BBC & BBC iPlayer 

Best Sports Programme
(Sponsored by NEP)

Cheltenham Festival – Day One, ITV Sport for ITV1
England v India Test Cricket, Sky Sports for Sky Sports Cricket
Euro 2025, ITV Sport for ITV1
Tour De France, ITV Sport for ITV4
UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, Sunset+Vine for BBC
Women’s Rugby World Cup, Whisper for BBC 

Best Post-Production House

dock10
ENVY
runVT
Serious Facilities
Sky Post Production
Suite 

Emerging Indie of the Year

Binocular
Happy Prince
Love Monday
Sandpaper Films
Walk on Air Films
ZANDLAND 

Best Independent Production Company
(Sponsored by Barclays)

72 Films
Candour Productions
Rogan Productions
Studio Lambert
Warp Films
World Productions 

Broadcaster of the Year
(Sponsored by BMC TV & Racetech)

5
BBC
Channel 4
ITV1
Netflix
U