Irish Talent Receive BAFTA Television Nods | The Irish Film & Television Network

Following on from his IFTA win for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s ‘Into the Storm’ Brendan Gleeson has received a Television BAFTA nomination in the category of Leading Actor. The Dubliner will face competition from NI born actor and Northern Ireland Screen’s Honorary President, Kenneth Branagh for his role in ‘Wallander’; John Hurt for ‘An Englishman in New York’ and David Oyelowo for the Irish filmed project ‘Small Island’.

Wartime drama ‘Small Island’ is set in London but shot in Belfast and Dublin. It received further nods in the groups of Supporting Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch and Drama Serial. In the latter group it will compete against the Northern Irish made ‘Occupation’ from Kudos Films, ‘Unforgiven’ from Red production Company and Revolution films’ ‘Red Riding’.

British actress Julie Walters has received two nominations, both in the category of Leading Actress. She has received nominations for the title role in the Channel 4/ITV co-production ‘Mo’ and BBC’s ‘A Short Stay in Switzerland’ - the former was shot on location in Northern Ireland, and the latter was written by NI screenwriter Frank McGuinness. Both programmes received further nominations in the category of Single Drama alongside the IFTA winning Northern Irish drama ‘Five Minutes of Heaven’ and Revolution films’ ‘The Unloved’.

Finally, Irish comedian and presenter Graham Norton, who will present the BAFTA Television Awards ceremony, has seen his chat show receive a nomination in the group of Entertainment Programme. ’The Graham Norton Show’ will compete with ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, ‘Harry Hill’s TV Burp’ and ‘Newswipe with Charlie Broker’.

Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen said; “Northern Ireland Screen has had a bumper year of high-quality television drama, with several of the BAFTA-nominated productions already picking up other high profile awards including at the Sundance Film Festival, the Royal Television Society, the Prix Europa and the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. We are absolutely delighted at the strong showing in the television BAFTA nominations of productions made in Northern Ireland with funding through the Northern Ireland Screen Fund supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. In the face of increasing global competition, Northern Ireland Screen has steadily increased its ability to attract film and television projects to Northern Ireland and is committed to developing a sustainable, dynamic screen industry and culture. We will continue to build on these successes to seek new opportunities for the sector from within the UK and internationally.”

BAFTA gongs will be presented on the evening in 22 television categories, including the highly esteemed BAFTA Fellowship. The awards, now in their 56th year, will be held on Sunday, June 6th in the London Palladium.

For a full list of nominees click here

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